A 26-year-old woman has died after being attacked, possibly stabbed, on Wednesday morning in Winnipeg's St. Vital neighbourhood.

It happened just after 7 a.m. CT near Bonita Avenue and Clayton Drive, off St. Anne's Road.

A photograph of Kaila Tran from the website of Teleco, the Winnipeg company where she worked as a business relationship manager. (Teleco.ca)

The woman has been rushed to hospital and later died. Police have not called it a homicide at this point, only a "suspicious death."

Police did not release the woman's name, but a co-worker confirmed to CBC News that she was Kaila Tran, 26, who was a business relationship manager at Teleco on St. James Street.

After Tran did not show up at work as scheduled on Wednesday morning, her employer told co-workers about what happened, the colleague said.

Earlier in the day, witnesses said the woman was stabbed outside of her vehicle in a parking lot.

Kristi Neufeld saw the attack happening, next to the woman's car.

"They were just on the ground and struggling. I think her car door was opened so I don't know if she was trying to get into her car," she said.

"It's a little bit freaky to know that happened. I mean, I walk to my car every morning."

'It was just brutal'

Another witness said the woman had a gash to her hand and to the back of her shoulders as well as by her neck, and her teeth had been knocked out.

Heavily-armed police officers interview a woman near the scene of the attack on Wednesday. (Meaghan Ketcheson/CBC)

Kevin Olivier also saw the incident, after hearing screams and looking out the window.

"All I could see was a man standing behind the black Dodge that's over there, and it looked like he was either punching or stabbing," he said.

"The next thing I know, there was a couple of people coming out of this building and he took off running towards the parking lot. It was just brutal."

Police flooded the area with about a dozen vehicles and a canine unit in a search for the suspect but no arrests have been made.

The focus of the search and investigation remains around an apartment building near Bonita and Clayton, and along the bank of the Seine River.

Police are asking the public to avoid the area.

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