A woman from Grand Rapids First Nation has died after a stabbing along Winnipeg’s Portage Avenue on Tuesday, according to police. Around 2:45 p.m., police were called to the 300 block of Portage for reports that a woman had been stabbed. She was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died from her injuries. Police said the suspect ran from the area before police arrived. The victim has been identified as 58-year-old Helen Annie Spence. She was originally from Grand Rapids First Nation, but had been living in Winnipeg. Police were able to identify a suspect and early on Wednesday, a 23-year-old woman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. She remains in custody and the charges haven’t been tested in court. Police told CTV News on Wednesday that there have been 81 stabbing incidents in the city in the last 30 days, including the incident on Portage. According to data from police, there were 464 stabbings this year up until the end of May, which is a similar trend to 2025, when there were 1,194 incidents. This number is down from the recent high in 2023 when there were 1,642 incidents. - With files from CTV News’ Jeff Keele
