Teen stabbed after downtown Winnipeg concert not expected to survive, father says

The father of a teenage boy stabbed while leaving a concert in downtown Winnipeg on the weekend says the 17-year-old, who is expecting a child with his girlfriend, likely won't survive his injuries.

"He'll never wake up again," said the father, who CBC News is not naming because of the man's concerns for his family's safety.

"It's either he succumbs by himself in the next day or two, or we have to make a decision with what the doctor said."

The 47-year-old father said the attack happened as his son and his son's girlfriend left rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie's concert at Canada Life Centre around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.

He said the couple was meeting up after the show with the man's daughter, her mom and step-sister for a ride home when a group of youth started taunting the daughter.

The man said his family told the group to leave them alone and tried to head to their vehicle, but got pulled into a brawl when his daughter was "swarmed."

That's when he was told his son jumped in to defend his family and got stabbed multiple times — including in the stomach, lung and "directly in the heart."

'Catastrophic' brain damage

The man said he was grateful for the nursing student who stepped in to do CPR on his son until police arrived, and for the officers and hospital staff who "went to extremes" to try to save his son, including with multiple surgeries. 

The teen's father said police told him the group allegedly involved in the attack included six to eight girls and three or four boys, who he said he was told appeared to be between 12 and 16 years old.

Winnipeg police made no mention of a stabbing on Monday, when they said the teen was assaulted and left in critical condition after coming across a fight that he tried to stop after a concert.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson Const. Dani McKinnon said on Tuesday police would not confirm any "imperative details" of their investigation until an arrest, or arrests, have been made in the case.

While his family was "kind of hopeful" at first that the teen would recover, his father said the family got an update Monday night that CT and brain scans showed "severe, catastrophic" brain damage from a lack of oxygen — leaving his son with "zero chance" of survival.

"So now it's the waiting game. And his girlfriend's pregnant. So his last act in his life was to save his mom, his sisters and his pregnant girlfriend and his child," the father said. "I think that's pretty noble."

'The best son anybody could hope for'

In the days since the attack, the man said his family has been visited by dozens of his son's friends, including coworkers at the Salisbury House restaurant on Pembina Highway.

"He's a really good kid. He's a good brother to his sister, he's the best son anybody could hope for," the man said, adding the teen would often help with cooking and cleaning around the apartment.

While his son had dropped out of high school, he was talking about going back to get his diploma in the fall — especially with a new baby expected in October, which the man said was what the teen spent his money on.

"He wanted to get a higher paying job to support his baby," the father said.

The man said the family members who witnessed the stabbing are traumatized — and he still can't believe his family's tragedy was sparked by a random altercation on their way home from a concert.

"I think that's more heinous than an armed robbery or murder," he said.

"They [killed] him for no reason and terrorized and battered my entire family for absolutely zero reason."