Teen fatally shot by Winnipeg police remembered by friends as 'great kid' with passion for music, dancing

A 19-year-old killed by Winnipeg police is being remembered as a good friend who had a passion for dancing and music.

Afolabi Stephen Opaso died after being shot on Sunday by officers who were responding to a well-being call at an apartment on University Crescent. Opaso, originally from Nigeria, was an international student at the University of Manitoba.

Clinton Ajayi, a childhood friend of Opaso's, remembers him as a happy teen who was there for the people in his life.

Ajayi last saw Opaso in Ondo State in Nigeria, where they grew up together.

"We used to play together. We used to play soccer and everything, and he used to dance, too. He's, like, a great kid," said Ajayi, who spoke to CBC from Indiana, where he's an international student.

Opaso arrived in Winnipeg about a year ago and was studying economics at the U of M.

One of his friends in Winnipeg says they called him "Zigi," and that he loved dancing and music. 

"He was friends with … a lot of the Afrobeat artists and a lot of the hip-hop artists here, and he really had a passion for dancing," Ziad Elahwal said Wednesday.

"He would even come up with my friends during their performances on stage to showcase his dancing."

Elahwal said the first time they met, Opaso impressed him with his generosity and kindness, helping him snap photos to promote a new song.

"I'll always remember him by that," Elahwal said. "He was such a great person to be around."

Experienced mental health crisis: lawyer

In a news release following Opaso's death, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba — the police watchdog agency that is now investigating the shooting — said that police notified them officers responding to the well-being call arrived to find a man with two other people in a suite at the University Crescent apartment block. 

Officers were confronted by an armed man, who was then shot, the IIU's release said.

On Monday, Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth told reporters the 19-year-old was armed with two knives.

Earlier this week, a lawyer speaking for Opaso's family said he was experiencing a mental health episode the day he died. 

Opaso had also gone to the hospital for a different episode last July, Jean-René Dominique Kwilu told CBC.

"He sort of experienced a psychosis," the lawyer said. "[His family] didn't know … where it came from, because it was the first time it happened to him."

Opaso was admitted, assessed and released, "and after that, everything was fine," Kwilu said.

He said he didn't know whether Opaso had been prescribed any medication or received any counselling afterwards. 

Ajayi said he didn't know about Opaso's mental health struggles.

"Last year, he was feeling good — like, he's always being happy."

U of M encourages students to use support services

The University of Manitoba says counselling, spiritual and wellness services are available to students during school terms.

While the Student Counselling Centre is closed during holidays, around-the-clock mental health supports offered remotely through the students' union health care plan are also available, said David Ness, the university's director of student counselling and wellness.

It's not clear if Opaso accessed any of those services.

Ness said he knows the services don't reach everyone.

"It's such a horrific event to experience. We want to make sure that students are aware of services and know that they can access them, and that's an ongoing challenge because every year, we have new students here," he said.

International students, who face unique challenges being far from home, are overrepresented at the Student Counselling Centre, he said.

"That transition here, it's perhaps more significant for them than anyone else. They're leaving their home communities, coming to a new country, and that's exciting, but that can also be challenging, intimidating, stressful at times."

On average, people have waited seven days for an appointment with a counsellor since September, Ness said. Students who are believed to be in crisis are seen immediately, he said.

For now, the centre is expanding outreach through class visits and social media, and re-evaluates its services at the end of every school year, Ness said.

The university will lower its flag in Opaso's honour once classes resume next week, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

'Trying to comprehend' friend's death

In a social media post, the University of Manitoba Nigerian Student Association called Opaso's death "tragic," saying he "met a brutal end while grappling with a mental health crisis."

"We are saddened by the loss of one of our own. This distressing event has ignited pain, fear, and frustration within our community, prompting us to demand answers," the association's president, Olivia Ifeoma Onyemaenu, wrote in a Thursday post on Instagram.

The Nigerian Association of Manitoba also expressed condolences to Opaso's family and friends in its own Instagram post.

The association acknowledged "the anxiety, frustration, sadness and distress this incident has caused within our community," but president Vera Obehi Keyede urged everyone "to remain calm and composed as investigations are underway."

Both Elahwal and Ajayi say they're still coming to terms with a death they say Opaso didn't deserve.

"Everyone is still trying to comprehend and wrap their heads around the unfortunate circumstance," Elahwal said. 

"We've all been in touch with each other. We've all been trying to support each other through what happened. The main concern right now is getting justice for him and his family," he said.

"I've been crying since," said Ajayi.

One of the last times he saw his friend, Opaso encouraged Ajayi to be good and stay out of trouble in the United States.

If he'd known more about Opaso's challenges in Canada, Ajayi said he would have offered advice and returned the favour.

"He has always been there for me."