Man who killed sister in Manitoba mass stabbing was out on bail: court records

Simard was asked in court whether he understood the release conditions.

“Yes,” he says in a recording of the court proceeding.

Records also show Simard pleaded guilty to two counts of assault, along with charges of mischief, in connection with offences in 2017.

RCMP have said Simard stabbed eight people Thursday at two homes on the First Nation northeast of Winnipeg.

His 18-year-old sister, whom RCMP have not identified, died and the others were taken to hospital. Four have since been discharged, health officials said Friday

Mounties said Simard fled in a stolen vehicle after the mass stabbing and died in a highway crash with an RCMP cruiser. The officer, who had been on her way to the stabbings, was seriously injured but is expected to recover.

Mounties had been going door-to-door at the First Nation on Thursday, checking for other possible victims. RCMP said Friday none had been found.

People on Hollow Water First Nation, a small lakefront community of about 1,000 residents 200 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, were still reeling Friday from the tragedy.

“It is kind of a sense of shock right now, of disbelief,” Ian Bushie, Manitoba’s minister of natural resources and Indigenous futures, said in an interview from Hollow Water.

“But at the same time, there’s a time to be able to rally with thoughts and prayers for each other as we get through these extremely tough days right now.”

Bushie, a former chief of Hollow Water, is related to some of those involved in the attack. He’s also a distant relative of the killer but said he didn’t know him well.

Bushie was at his home Thursday morning when the stabbings happened.

“Seeing the first responders, from the paramedic service to the police service to the STARS air ambulance, was very positive, very uplifting to see,” he said.

“Obviously, we didn’t know with 100 per cent certainty everything that was going on in the real-time moment. But for the most part, the community knew what was happening and knew the response that was going on.”

The leader of the Assembly of First Nations said more investments are needed in First Nations-led policing initiatives and mental health and addictions support.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said the attack in Hollow Water is an example of how First Nations policing must be recognized as an essential service.

“First Nations communities deserve safety like any other community in this country. All of our children should have the same services. It doesn’t matter where they live,” she said Friday while in Winnipeg for the assembly’s annual meeting.

Hollow Water First Nation doesn’t have its own police force and relies on safety officers in the community. Nearby RCMP detachments include one in Powerview, about an hour’s drive away.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew visited Hollow Water on Thursday night. He later posted photos on X and described in a video how he sat by a fire with members as they prayed and cried but also laughed.

Kinew said he left feeling hopeful.

“This is a community that has some members who are plagued by demons of the past, but this is also a strong, resilient community,” he said.

“Hollow Water can look into the dark of night and find hope. They’ve done it before and they will do it again.”

Messages of condolences and support have poured in for the First Nation, including from James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, where there was a mass stabbing exactly three years earlier. Eleven people were killed and 17 injured.

“From our nation to theirs, we send strength, compassion and the reminder that they are not alone,” the James Smith First Nation said Thursday in a statement posted to social media.

“We walk together in spirit.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2025.

Steve Lambert and Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Man who killed sister in Manitoba mass stabbing was out on bail: court records

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