Three youths are in police custody after police allege they were involved in a stabbing in downtown Winnipeg on Sunday which left an adult male dead.

The Winnipeg Police Service says that officers were called to the Millennium Library located at 251 Donald Street for a report of a stabbing around 4:40 p.m.

When officers arrived they found a man suffering from stab wounds. The victim was transported to hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced deceased.

Three male youths have been arrested and placed in police custody. A large police presence remained in the area for the evening.

The City of Winnipeg says in a social media post that the downtown library will remain closed on Monday, Dec. 12, and Tuesday, Dec. 13.

The WPS has not disclosed the age of those arrested or the victim. The victim's identity has also not been released as of yet.

In 2019 the library introduced heightened security, including screening people at the entrances, due to a rising number of calls to police to respond to disturbances on the property. While the City of Winnipeg claimed that the measures were working in reducing trouble, it also received pushback from community advocates who claimed that the measures negatively impacted marginalized people.

"We have certainly seen less calls for service from the Library," said the WPS' Const. Rob Carver at the time, but he noted the importance of considering those statistics within the greater picture of what the library itself is seeing. "It's a little premature to look at that ... really the accurate picture comes from the Millennium Library."

In the summer of 2020 the City did away with the metal detectors and bag searches and worked with community organizations to bring a different approach to security screening that was more inclusive of community members.

It's not clear at this time what sparked the altercation or if the victim and the suspects were known to each other. Police have also not said where in the library the incident occurred.
 
The Homicide Unit has assumed the investigation, and police are asking for help. Anyone with information regarding the incident that may assist investigators is asked to call 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).