Noel Talingdan, 37, died after being shot outside Bar Italia early Tuesday. (CBC Instagram)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Man killed in shooting outside Bar Italia victim of targeted hit: police
Noel Talingdan, 37, said he had to leave the country in social media post a week before shooting
Noel Talingdan, 37, died after being shot outside Bar Italia early Tuesday. (Instagram)
Homicide investigators are urging witnesses to break their silence on the fatal shooting of a man outside a popular Winnipeg bar — a slaying they are now describing as a targeted hit.
Noel Talingdan, 37, and a 28-year-old woman were shot outside Bar Italia on Corydon Avenue early Tuesday morning.
Both were rushed to hospital — Talingdan in critical condition and the woman in stable condition. Talingdan, who also went by the last name Ramirez, died Wednesday in hospital. It’s not clear if the woman knew Talingdan or if she was an innocent bystander.
Friends remember talented, kind chef
A Winnipeg police cruiser blocks taped-off Cockburn Street, between McMillan and Corydon avenues outside Bar Italia, after the shooting. (Warren Kay/CBC)
Friends who were close to Talingdan tell CBC he was a talented chef who would be the first to help others out. They described him as caring and one recalled Talingdan volunteering to deliver Christmas hampers.
Outstanding drug trafficking charge
But Talingdan was also facing a charge of trafficking cocaine, according to court records obtained by CBC News Thursday. The charge was outstanding from December of 2017 and Talingdan was due in court in June to deal with it. Court records say he was required to abstain from drinking alcohol or using drugs and had to live at his Winnipeg address.
A week before the fatal shooting, Talingdan, who is from the Philippines, posted a mysterious series of photos on social media with a dog saying “Have to leave the country n cant take her… 10k n she urs… breaks my heart but…”
Noel Talingdan posted on Instagram a week before his killing that he had to leave the country. (Instagram)
Police said it wasn’t clear if Talingdan was a patron at the bar but friends say he was well-known at the bar and used to work there.
Cops ‘weeding through’ surveillance footage
Skrabek said police believe witnesses to the shooting have ‘vital’ information that may corroborate information police already have or said it could take them in a new direction.
There are several cameras outside Bar Italia that investigators are now using for their probe into the shooting.
“Investigators are still weeding through images and footage that’s available and as far as I know right now we don’t have any concrete information to release to the public,” Skrabek said.
Skrabek said she wasn’t sure if the hit was gang or biker related and emphasized the concern right now is getting a suspect in custody. The woman who was shot has since been released from hospital.
Anyone with information can call the homicide unit at 204-986-6508 or contact Crime Stoppers.