Man charged in Winnipeg rooming house shootings was in Canadian military

A man accused of fatally shooting four people in Winnipeg's West Broadway neighbourhood last weekend was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for 11 years, a court heard earlier this year.

Jamie Randy Felix was arrested early Friday morning and charged with four counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. 

Court records show Felix had no criminal record until recently, when he was given a two-year suspended sentence and supervised probation after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm.

That charge stemmed from an incident at an apartment party in August 2021 where a drunk man ended up falling down the stairs, a provincial court heard on March 3 of this year.

The man spent nine days in hospital and suffered from some memory loss related to the night in question, and random dizziness, but otherwise made a full recovery, court heard.

During the March hearing, Crown attorney Tim Chudy told the court that Felix was a military veteran, who served 11 years and reached the rank of corporal.

When contacted by CBC News, the Department of National Defence confirmed Felix was a former reserve member of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles who joined the Canadian Armed Forces in July 2010 and was released in August 2021.

A spokesperson for the department said Felix was a corporal who served as an infantry soldier, although he had no deployments throughout his career in the military.

Felix's Instagram page features several photos of him in military uniforms. 

During a 2020 interview with CBC Radio's Now or Never, Felix described himself as a "Canadian soldier" who also worked in an office. 

He said he struggled with addiction following the murder of his twin brother in 2012, but later found help through a support group for men. 

He also described growing up in a "toxic" environment, where those around him were abusing drugs and alcohol.

He turned to fitness to avoid "going back to that lifestyle I tried to get away from my entire life," he said in the 2020 interview.

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