Robbers kill Filipino teen at his Winnipeg workplace

John Floyd Barrion, 19, was working alone when he was attacked. SCREENSHOT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – A 19-year-old Filipino beer parlor worker died from injuries he suffered during a robbery at his place of work on Tuesday, February 15, the second Filipino teen murdered in three years in Winnipeg.

This is the seventh murder of the year for Winnipeg. Last year there were two murders at this time.

John Floyd Barrion was found seriously injured at a hotel beer vendor early Tuesday morning in the 1400 block of Notre Dame Ave. At around 3:10 a.m., emergency services were called, and Barrion was taken to hospital in unstable condition, where he died from his injuries.

He was working alone on his graveyard shift, not far from his home, according to reports. Police would not say how many suspects they are looking for or if any arrests have been made.

Global News Canada has learned that Barrion complied with all of the robbers’ demands but they killed him anyway.

“He (had) so many ambitious plans for the future, for the family,” his mother, Maria, told Global News Canada. “But boom, in one click, he’s gone.”

“It’s really hard to lose him at the young age and I want I want this to stop now,” his mother said. “I don’t want it to happen again.”

“Nakakalungkot (It’s sad),” Leila Castro posted in her Facebook page after the murder. Castro is the founder of 204 Neighbourhood Watch, which is providing support to the family including psychological first aid. “Another blow to our Filipino community here in Winnipeg.

“It’s really hard to lose him at the young age and I want I want this to stop now,” John’s mother, Maria Barrion, said. SCREENSHOT

Barrion, who was on his fourth month at work having completed his training, was remembered as a loving & caring person by friends who shared their condolences on social media.

Gabrielle Abad, daughter of Winnipeg singer-songwriter Levy Abad, Jr. who went to school with Barrion, sent this message to Philippine CanadianNews. Com.

”I knew him from school. Before graduating last year, we went to Technical Vocational High school together. He would always ask me how I’m doing and we shared mutual friends. I talked to him just days before he passed. On instagram we’ve been posting our memories and messages under the hashtag #justice4johnlloyd. I just hope everyone stays safe and police realize how this is really effecting our community. I also think it’s an opportunity to realize that life should not be taken for granted.

He would work long hours to help provide for his family. I remember him telling me an incident where he almost got robbed at work before and just laughing it off afterwards. I would have never thought that it would happen again.”

Castro posted this message on her Facebook page:

“I am deeply heartbroken even if I don’t know him and the family personally. John Lloyd is a hardworking and responsible young man who works and pays taxes, and I heard he gives all his earnings to his parents to help them. Based on how he was described by his coworker who is like an Ate to him, John Lloyd is Totoy na Totoy, napakabait (really boyish, very kind), very talented in singing. He is the son, the younger brother and the older brother we all wish we have. John Lloyd does not do drugs, he is not part of a gang. He chose to work in a place that is one block away from his house thinking it is safer for him.”

Castro told The Winnipeg Sun that “based on the footage that was seen, there were people who entered the vicinity. The people went to his place of work and robbed him. In the footage, he was seen giving his phone and money. The autopsy is still ongoing and there are no details yet on exactly how he was injured.”

Three ago, the community lost a child, Jaime Adao, 17, from a fatal home invasion. His own house is supposed to be a place of safety, but he was brutally killed in front of his school books, he was studying  to secure a bright future for himself, not knowing that

Adao’s killers were convicted and sentence to life imprisonment and an accomplice to five years after pleading guilty.

According to Statistics Canada, Winnipeg was No. 1 on the police-reported violent crime severity index for 2020. Thunder Bay was in second place followed by Regina, Saskatoon, and Sudbury. Barrie, Ontario, scored lowest on the index.

Winnipeg experienced a record 44 homicides in 2019, 42 homicides in 2020, and 43 in 2021.