Community gathers to remember Vincent Brian Jeffrey Kipling

Anger and sadness were palpable at a candlelight vigil Sunday for Vincent Brian Jeffery Kipling, a man whose death is being investigated by Winnipeg police as a homicide.

“I just started to sing to him and tell him that everything was going to be OK, and that he was going to be OK,” said Krystal Jensen, who tried to help Kipling stay alive in his final moments.

BACKGROUND: Family mourning father of 2 who died following possible ‘attack’ in Winnipeg

Jensen says more needs to be done to protect Indigenous people.

“I think you need to do something, because if your family was getting killed left and right, I have a feeling things would be done a lot quicker,” she said.

With some first aid experience, Jensen was one of three people who tried to help Kipling after someone flagged them down on the evening of May 10, saying a man needed help in the area of Main Street and Stella Avenue.

They called the police around 10:50 p.m., with officers arriving on scene shortly after, followed by paramedics. They all tried to save Kipling’s life. Police say he later died in hospital, with his family believing he was attacked.

Jensen, who embraced members of Kipling’s family and sang at the vigil, says the lack of resources to help Indigenous community members – and the state of the city – speaks for itself.

“It’s disgusting,” she said. “It’s the 13th homicide this year in Winnipeg. When we have more homicides in May than we do in months in the year, it’s pretty sad.”

In a previous interview with CityNews, family members say they’re remembering Kipling as a loving father, brother and son, calling him an aspiring comic and business owner, a bright light in their lives who will be deeply missed.

“He’d say I have nothing, but you can have some of my nothing,” his mother Shannon Kipling said.

WATCH: Family mourning father of 2 who died following ‘attack’ in Winnipeg

The family is pleading for anyone with information to come forward to police.

“I just want them to know they took a life,” said Kipling’s sister Madison. “They took something that they can’t give back and that’s a son, a brother and a father.”

The loved ones say while Kipling had his struggles, he was on a healing journey, attending sweat lodges, drumming and healing circles – trying to better himself.

One of the people who tried to help him on that journey is Bentley Dubois, who led healing circles and attended sweats with Kipling.

“One of the most impactful change agents I’ve seen for the men in our community is discovering, rediscovering the ceremony and the culture, Vincent was starting to become aware of that,” said Dubois at the vigil.

At Sunday’s vigil, Dubois delivered a sealed list of goals to Kipling’s family, part of an exercise he did with the young father, saying he wanted to ensure it was delivered so they could know what he was hoping to achieve.

He said the barriers and obstacles Kipling faced as he was alive and trying to get help are being faced by Indigenous men and women across the board, especially those trying to get help.

“It goes without saying: our city is in crisis right now,” said Dubois. “And you can cite homelessness, and you can cite crime, but at the core of it is addiction.”

No arrests have been made and Winnipeg police are asking anyone with information or footage of the incident to come forward to the homicide unit or to Crime Stoppers to report the information anonymously.