Man, 54, shot to death in North End home Sunday evening

A 54-year-old man is dead and another is facing charges after a shooting in Winnipeg's North End Sunday night.

Officers were called to a home on Inkster Boulevard and Salter Street around 8:30 p.m. There, they found Ralph Edward Boehnlein shot in the upper body.

He was rushed to hospital in critical condition but later died.

Now, Matthew Wayne Lee Valentine, 24, is facing multiple charges including second-degree murder, identity fraud and failure to comply with a recognizance.

Valentine was arrested a short while after the shooting in the 400 block of Aikins Street, according to police.

Const. Eric Hofley said the two were not known to each other, and other people were in the home when the shooting took place.

“I wouldn’t say it was random,” said Hofley. “It’s my understanding that drugs may have been partially to be involved in this incident.”

A woman was also arrested at the scene but she was not charged in connection with Boehnlein's killing.

“There were certainly others present within the residence, what the relationship was, I don’t have,” he said. “What brought the accused to that address, I’m not aware.”

According to Boehnlein's family, he only moved to Winnipeg about a year ago after spending several years working in the Yukon. He didn't have much family in the city, and he was also dealing with a serious illness.

Richard Pineault lives just down the street from where the shooting took place.

“All I know was the guy was a pretty friendly guy, and we’ve never had anything like this happen,” said Pineault, who was asleep when police arrived in his neighbourhood Sunday night. “This is not a bad neighbourhood to live in. We don’t usually get that kind of stuff."

Pineault said the noise woke him up, and he went outside to see what was happening.

“I was quite surprised when I saw the police cars. I didn’t know what happened," he said, "I came out for 30 seconds to a minute just to see what was going on and the police said they had the dogs out and they’d appreciate if I went back in."

Pineault said Boehnlein lived at the home for about a year.

“He seemed to have friends and had a few people over and a girlfriend and I talked to him a couple times. He seemed like a pretty good guy,” he said. “He seemed friendly and a normal type of guy. Quite normal.”