The suspect in a stabbing at a North Toronto office building was in the process of being fired when he allegedly attacked his superiors with a knife Wednesday morning, police confirm to CP24.
A total of four people were taken to hospital after the incident on the fifth floor of a building on Yonge Street, north of Wilson Avenue at around 9:35 a.m.
Two of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries and remain in critical condition while one of them was treated and released from hospital. The fourth victim is in stable condition and is being kept in hospital overnight for observation.
According to Det. Dan Darnbrough, the two victims with the most severe injuries were firing the suspect from his job at Ceridan Canada when they were attacked.
Several employees then managed to subdue the man until officers arrived, investigators said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement released by Ceridian Wednesday afternoon, the company confirmed that the man was a former employee of the human resource services company.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. As you might imagine, this is a very difficult time,” the statement read.“Out of respect for the privacy of the individual and their family, we are not able to share or comment on the specifics of the individual’s condition but all four employees are being treated by medical experts at area hospitals.”
The building, which is now under lockdown, is part of a cluster of three office complexes and those who work in the area described a scene that was relatively under control in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing Wednesday.
“I just saw two people being escorted to an ambulance. One had bandages around his head and the other had a torn T-shirt. There are a lot of police and EMS people moving around, but outside it is not much of a scene," Tony Bitonti, who works in the building next door, told CP24. "People are milling about and there does not appear to be any panic outside right now".
“I got some texts about what happened so I came outside, saw some people with blood on them and now there are trucks and paramedics all around," Razvan Nicolae, who also works next door, added.
Chuang 'Ray' Li, of Mississauga, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, four counts of aggravated assault and four counts of assault with a weapon.
Li is expected to appear in court at 1000 Finch Avenue Weston Thursday morning.
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