A man has been charged with attempted murder stemming from an assault on two children near Jane Street and Steeles Avenue West in north-end Toronto on Saturday afternoon.
Toronto police responded to reports of a stabbing at an apartment building at 5000 Jane Street around 3:30 p.m.
Police said a man was in a home with two children, both under the age of 10, when he struck them on the head with a hammer before choking them.
Toronto EMS said two children, one boy and one girl, were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Both children are expected to make a full recovery.
Witness Helen Bohn, a resident of the apartment building, told Global News on Saturday that she was coming out of the lobby when the boy, who had an open head wound, approached her and asked her to call 911.
“It hurt me. I wanted to faint seeing that,” Bohn said.
READ MORE: 2 children, 1 man seriously injured after assault in north end of Toronto
Another witness said she saw the two children covered in blood and barely able to speak.
“They had nothing to say, they were in shock,” Linda Dipiero said.
Police said a 53-year-old man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of overcome resistance by choke or suffocation, possession of a weapon and two counts of uttering threats.
The name of the man is being withheld in order to protect the identity of the victims.
He is scheduled to appear in a Toronto court Thursday.
—With files from Rahul Kalvapalle