Less than 48 hours since RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) began their manhunt for potentially armed suspects driving a stolen vehicle, one person is now deceased, two have gone free, and one is facing charges while in custody.
David Frank Burling, 29, the driver of the stolen vehicle, has been charged with two counts of committing an assault against a peace officer with a weapon, possessing property of over $5,000 obtained by crime, failing to stop, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
He remains in police custody awaiting trial.
The 37-year-old female of the getaway trio has been released without charges.
The third passenger, a 30-year-old male, was found deceased at the scene where the three were apprehended by police in Niverville.
The RCMP are not yet addressing the specifics of officer-involved shooting. An investigation by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba is looking into the circumstances of the man’s death. The deceased’s name has not been released.
A full breakdown of the day’s events are gradually coming to light.
They began on June 4 at approximately 8:00 p.m. when local authorities were notified by the Saskatchewan RCMP that a vehicle stolen in Cypress River, Manitoba had been spotted near Carlyle, Saskatchewan. It was believed that the vehicle was headed back to Manitoba and that the occupants may be armed.
Advisories were immediately sent to all Manitoba RCMP detachments, as well as the Winnipeg Police Service.
Shortly after midnight on June 5, the suspect vehicle was spotted by city police and followed into RCMP jurisdiction south of Winnipeg.
Assisted by the use of a police helicopter, the suspects were located by an RCMP team at Providence University College in Otterburne. Here, a use of force was carried out involving the discharging of police firearms.
The suspects escaped the scene in the stolen pickup and were stopped by RCMP once again in Niverville at approximately 3:00 a.m.
It is alleged that Burling fled by taking another vehicle while the woman was apprehended. The second male suspect died on the scene as a result of a gunshot wound.
Efforts to locate Burling continued into Saskatchewan, where he was finally arrested, along with a different female passenger, near Springside. This female, too, has been released without charges.
“There is much more work to do on this investigation,” says Rob Lasson, Acting Criminal Operations Officer for the Manitoba RCMP. “This was a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional event that was complex and had many moving parts, and all of those involved worked together toward the same goals: keeping citizens safe and getting the suspect in custody.”
Criminal Record
Burling has a lengthy criminal record. He was most recently released from a Manitoba jail in March with a history of stealing cars and evading police. In January, a judge had sentenced him to two and a half years in prison, although this was shortened to 72 days with time served.
He has accrued five previous convictions for fleeing police. He was subject to a five-year driving ban at the time of this week’s manhunt. He also has a lifetime ban from being issued a driver’s licence in Manitoba.
Burling is no stranger to police-involved shootings either, having been struck by an RCMP officer’s bullet in 2022 after being caught hauling stolen ATVs near Portage la Prairie.
In 2020, he admitted to nearly a dozen charges involving auto thefts over a period of two years.
Even earlier, in 2017, he served a six-month sentence for leading police on a chase in a stolen vehicle in the vicinity of Winkler.
