WINNIPEG – Winnipeg's inner-city violence has claimed another life — this time, a 20-year-old man shot in daylight in the west end.

The victim succumbed Saturday morning to upper-body injuries suffered when he was shot Friday shortly before 6:30 p.m., MST.

Const. Jason Michalyshen told QMI Agency the victim was with two other people in the area, when the trio "made contact with at least one and possibly more individuals" on the street and a gun was fired, "striking the victim to the upper body."

Michalyshen didn't specify the number of shots fired, or speculate on a motive in Winnipeg's 10th homicide this year.

"I can't confirm that there's any gang involvement here at all, at this point," he said, adding that it didn't appear that the groups were known to each other, “but certainly, we're going to be exploring all possibilities."

The victim was driven, apparently by one of his two acquaintances, to hospital in critical condition before officers arrived at the shooting scene shortly after.

Michalyshen said the man appears to have died between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.

No arrests had been made.

A man working at a nearby business said he heard what he believes were two gunshots outside the building, before seeing that his Volkswagen Jetta in a rear lot had been hit by another vehicle.

"I didn't notice any noise, except the two gunshots. That's it," the man said, requesting anonymity.

"I didn't even hear people talking, or anything," he added.

It was quiet. It's not normal to be that quiet."

The Jetta owner said officers found two gun shells behind the building later, though that couldn't be confirmed.

It's uncertain whether any problem with the availability of ambulances prompted the victim to be driven to the hospital by his acquaintances, though Chris Broughton, head of a Winnipeg paramedic union, said on Twitter that there were "no ambulances to send to three critical patients" on Friday night, "including a shooting victim."

ross.romaniuk@sunmedia.ca