Police say a lone gunman targeted three men Sunday night, sending them to hospital in critical condition
Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Natalie Aitken said investigators don't believe the shooting was random as it appears the address or the victims were specifically targeted.
Aitken said two of the three men who were shot are known to police.
"Some of the situations that they're known for would have been things that our organized crime (unit) may have looked at, whether that's going to be weapons or drug-related offences," she said.
At this point, police haven't released a description of the suspect but said they believe the shooter was a man.
Aitken said it's "almost too early to tell" if a vehicle was involved, and officers are still figuring out if there are more people who helped out.
"(The) suspect or suspects who attended there were very directed to where they went," said Aitken.
The organized crime unit is involved with the investigation, Aitken said.
"A lot of that has to do with the drug trade, with the illegal drug trade, with individuals actively involved in that, but not solely to do with drugs and that," she said.
"We're going to look at any type of association (with) criminal groups, and going forward, it does appear at this time that this would not have been a random incident."
The shooting happened around 9 p.m. at a home on Lou Peltier Crescent where, according to a witness, a man with a gun came up and fired into the garage, where a number of people were gathered.
The shots injured a 26-year-old man, a 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old man and sent police and emergency officials scrambling to the normally quiet street of new homes.
The shooting is not believed to be connected to ongoing tensions between biker gangs that has simmered all summer, said police. The people who were at the home when the shooting happened are co-operating with police, Aitken said.
Officers don't have any information yet suggesting the shooting was connected to prior events, but that could change as the investigation proceeds, she said.
"We don't have anything to suggest it is linked to any other incidents, but that's something that we're certainly going to try to speak with these individuals and gather as much information as we can," said Aitken.
All three men were upgraded to stable condition after they arrived at hospital.
The owner of the home that was the scene of the shooting is a 26-year-old man and his female partner. They purchased the property in April and neither has any criminal convictions in Manitoba.
A neighbour who asked not to be named said at the scene of the crime on Sunday that he was on a walk with his wife around the block when the shooting happened.
"We were telling some of our neighbours about what a great area this is," he said.
Minutes later, he heard the six shots in the distance, but initially thought they were fireworks.
"I'm very worried about the shooting -- I thought this was going to be a nice, safe, quiet area to live in," he said, adding he and his family moved into the new development less than six months ago.
Two other neighbours told the Free Press on Sunday they never spoke to the people living at the house where the three men were found shot, describing the residence as "definitely not a family home."
"I've been on this street for about two months now, and I've gotten to know almost everyone here, except them," a neighbour said, adding she often saw different men in their 20s going in and out of the house.
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