Police in Canada have shot dead Afolabi Stephen Opaso, a Nigerian student, in Manitoba.
The family of the 19-year-old, said to be a student of the University of Manitoba before his death, are asking questions about the incident.
They claim he was experiencing a mental health crisis before his death.
Jean-Rene Dominique Kwilu, a lawyer assisting the family, questioned the shooting, insisting that if the police had wanted to unarm the deceased said to be in possession of two knives, the shot was unnecessary.
Police said a well-being call was made about an armed man acting erratically at an apartment building at 77 University Crescent around 2:30 pm on Sunday.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said in a release on Monday that they found the deceased, a 19-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man in the apartment when they arrived the scene. Winnipeg police chief, Danny Smyth, said he was armed with two knives when he was shot.
The IIU claimed Opaso confronted the officers before he was shot and died at a hospital he was taken to for medical attention.
“I think we had one other encounter with him, sometime last July, where we assisted him by providing him with a ride,” Smyth said.
“He has no other record with us, and certainly no criminal record. We think he may have been a student at the [University of Manitoba].”
This is the second officer-involved shooting in Winnipeg in a week. Last Thursday, a man was shot dead by officers during a hostage situation in the city’s West Broadway area.
Smyth said the two incidents were different events and circumstances.
