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Man injured in 2023 Winnipeg mass shooting dies in hospital; family wants attempted murder charge upgraded
A man shot during a 2023 mass shooting in Winnipeg has died in hospital and his family is speaking out. Jon Hendricks reports.
The sole survivor of a mass shooting that killed four people nearly two years ago has died in hospital and his family is asking for the charge against the alleged shooter to be upgraded to second-degree murder.
Shawn Marko died in hospital from pneumonia on June 1. He had been hospitalized since the shooting in a Langside Street home on Nov. 26, 2023.
According to his sister Melissa, he had been celebrating his birthday with four friends when someone entered the home and shot everyone inside. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others died in hospital.
'He told us everything that happened,' Melissa said. 'He was the last one to be shot. All the other ones were shot first. He had all the (four victims) blood on him and everything.'
Shawn was shot three times, with one bullet lodging in his spine. His large intestine and pancreas were removed, along with half of his bladder and stomach. He would remain hospitalized until his death.
'He phoned me and he was gasping for air, even with the oxygen on,' Melissa said. 'And he told me, 'I'm not going to make it this time.' And he was dead the very next morning.'
Jamie Felix has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in Marko's case. He remains in custody and none of the charges against him have been proven in court.
Melissa now wants the attempted murder charge upgraded to a murder charge.
'He would never have been in the hospital had he not been shot,' she said. 'He was shot just like everybody else. He just lasted longer.'
However, upgrading a charge isn't straight forward.
Theodore Mariash, the lawyer representing Felix, said the Crown will have to meet the legal standard of proof as to whether or not the actions of the accused were a significant contributing cause of the death.
'With the other four victims it's very clear that, you know, their deaths are as a result of a homicide. But, with respect to Mr. Marko, it's not so cut and dried,' Mariash said.
A spokesperson from the Government of Manitoba said in a statement to CTV News that 'Decisions about whether the charge will be upgraded will be made after all the relevant evidence has been obtained and reviewed.'
Melissa said she is remembering her brother as the kind of person who loved being around other people, and who people loved being around.
'He loved just hanging around with his friends,' she said. 'They didn't have to be doing anything, they would just hang around.'
