Feb. 10: Constable McDonald killed; Transcona Board of Trade incorporated.

February 10, 1911 - Transcona’s Board of Trade was inaugurated. The town itself would not be incorporated until the following year, but the announcement of the construction of the Transcona rail shops spurred a commercial frenzy in the area. For more Transcona history.

February 10, 1940 - Winnipeg Police Constable John McDonald was shot dead and his partner, Constable Norman Stewart, was wounded at a botched stake-out at the Manitoba Motor League offices on Fort Street. After the shooting the would-be safe crackers fled and led police on a couple of high speed chases through the city.

February 12, 1940, Winnipeg Tribune

Police already had an idea of who the ringleader and man who pulled the trigger was: Mike 'The Horse' Attamanchuk. The Dauphin native with a lengthy criminal record eluded police the night of the shooting, but two days later police found him holed up in an suite at the Brandt Block at Logan and Sara. Before police could enter, "The Horse" shot himself in the head and died soon after.

© 2012, 2020 Christian Cassidy

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