INNISFAIL - News of a sudden death in Innisfail during the evening of April 24 is quickly spreading through town and across social media.
Details surrounding the investigation have not yet been released by RCMP but witnesses are speaking up.
Kaval Sran, manager at the Zoo nightclub at the Innisfail Hotel, said he went to check his mail at the community mailbox located on the south side of the bar at about 10:40 p.m. He noticed three people walking down the sidewalk in front of the building but didn't pay much attention to them until minutes later.
"After five minutes, the bartender came to me and said there is one guy knocked down on the street," said Sran. "I went outside and I saw there was a guy on the sidewalk and people were trying to help him. I called the ambulance and RCMP myself. I called 9-1-1."
Sran said the victim was a white male, and just over six feet tall.
"He was lying down on the ground and people were doing CPR on him because he was not breathing," he said, noting it was patrons from the bar who were assisting the man.
According to Sran, the entire incident was caught on video surveillance outside the building. It showed the victim was in the company of another male and a female. He said the victim apparently collapsed. Sran added that video, now in the hands of RCMP investigators, shows the collapsed man being beaten by a male.
"There were three people walking down on the sidewalk and one of them fell down. Nobody touched him, he just fell down," said Sran of the video images, referring to the man's collapse and a few minutes later, was beaten.
After the beating, the two people accompanying the victim notified staff of a man outside needing assistance, said Sran, adding they then left the area.
To his knowledge, the three people in question were not in the bar that night but just happened to be walking by The Zoo when the incident occurred.
"Somebody called me this morning, I think it was the investigator and they said a guy died because of injuries," he said. "They did not tell me if he died on the sidewalk or in the hospital."
He said staff were shocked and saddened by the incident.
"This is the first time (something like this has happened). It could have happened anywhere. It did not happen in our business, it just happened on the sidewalk," said Sran. "We tried our best to help that person out but unfortunately he died. It is sad and shocking that someone died last night and in front of us."
RCMP are continuing their investigation.
