TORONTO – The woman accused of stabbing a 67-year-old man Thursday and who was later apprehended in a daring tactical police raid has been charged with attempted murder.
Police responded to a scene on Rosedale Valley Road, near Yonge and Bloor streets, around 7:30 Thursday morning after reports of stabbing.
Responders found a 67-year-old man at the scene suffering from multiple stab wounds. Police say the man was stabbed with a large kitchen knife and is now in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police later identified the suspect as Ellis Kirkland, 60, a Harvard-educated executive University of Toronto alumnus.
She was arrested Thursday evening after a standoff with Emergency Task Force officers who rappelled down from the 28th floor of a hotel and apprehended her.
An internationally renowned infrastructure specialist, Kirkland was a vice president of the NATO Association of Canada, although the organization has removed her name from its website.
She is also the chair and founder of the NATO Paxbuild Economic Platform, a special project run by the organization to promote peace and security through economic stability, the site says.
Kirkland was also the chair of the City of Toronto’s Bloor Viaduct Safety Committee, which lobbied for a safety barrier on the bridge that was notorious for suicides.
She has now been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and weapons dangerous to the public peace and is slated to appear in court Friday morning.
With files from Mark Carcasole