2 teens charged after confrontation with machete, air pistol snuck into Red River Ex: Winnipeg police

Two teenage boys have been charged after they allegedly confronted a group of people with an air pistol and a machete at one of Winnipeg's biggest summer fairs on Sunday, police say.

Winnipeg police were called about weapons at the Red River Exhibition at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a Monday news release.

A group of teens, between ages 15 to 18, were standing in line and waiting to get on a ride at the event when they were confronted by two people they didn't know, Winnipeg police Const. Dani McKinnon said at a Monday news conference.

The two argued with the group before they brandished a machete and a pistol.

'Unfortunate scenario'

Garth Rogerson, CEO of the Red River Exhibition Association, says the group of teens alerted security about the presence of the weapons, which were never pulled out. No one was injured during the incident.

A 2022 shooting led to enhanced security at the event, which includes metal detectors, pat-downs, bag checks, plainclothes officers, as well as over a kilometre of fencing to ensure people go through the main entrance, Rogerson said.

However, the event is now dealing with a "growing problem" of people tossing banned items over the fence before going through security and later retrieving the items, including the teens with the machete and air pistol, he said.

"We started seeing that as soon as we opened," Rogerson told CBC on Monday. The annual event began Friday.

A 17-year-old boy was charged with possessing a weapon and four counts of failing to comply with a release order. A 15-year-old boy was also charged with possessing a weapon, as well as two counts of failing to comply with an undertaking.

Both were detained in custody. McKinnon said they are known to police.

"It's an unfortunate scenario," McKinnon said. "It happens from time to time."

Rogerson maintains that the Ex is still a safe place to go. He says more security guards have been hired to monitor the fencing, and the Ex is also considering cutting down nearby shrubs where it's believed the teens hid the weapons.

"This is a huge problem for us," he said. "We spent 30 years growing beautiful shrubberies along our fence line and now they're a liability."

The level of security introduced since the 2022 shooting is "unusual" for events like the Ex, but the costs have been proved necessary, he said. Before Sunday, security costs were near $250,000.

"It's a personal thing for me," he said. "If there's an incident here, I take that as a personal failure."