Police have arrested a suspect after two “unprovoked” slashings in Toronto in which individuals experiencing homelessness were targeted, police say.
Insp. Kathlin Seremetkovski announced the arrest Tuesday, just one hour after she held a press conference appealing to the public for information on the two attacks.
“I am pleased to inform members of the community that members of 51 Division Toronto police have arrested a suspect in relation to the investigations I spoke about earlier this morning with the assault with a weapon,” she said.
“This has been an extremely successful day for us in that we are able to keep members of the community safe now that we have this individual in custody.”
Seremetkovski said assistance from the public and businesses resulted in officers making an arrest and she thanked those who helped.
Toronto police first issued a news release about the incidents on Sunday.
Officers said the first “random” attack happened Friday around 7:30 a.m. in the area of Victoria Street and Dundas Street East.
A victim was standing outside when the suspect approached from behind and “slashed the victim in the face with an edged weapon,” police said.
The suspect fled on foot.
On Sunday at 5:45 a.m., officers again responded to an incident, this time in the area of Yonge and Adelaide streets.
Police said a victim was asleep outside when the same suspect approached and slashed the person in the face.
Both victims were treated in hospital and later released.
Seremetkovski said she didn’t have any information regarding a potential motive for the attacks, adding that it’s early in the investigation.
Earlier Tuesday, Seremetkovski said the “unprovoked” attacks targeted two “underhoused” individuals outside who ranged in age from their late-30s to mid-40s.
She said the suspect approached the victims, didn’t say anything, and then slashed them on the right side of their face with a “sharp edged weapon.”
Toronto resident Matthew McLellan, 21, was arrested at his home around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to be charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon.
Seremetkovski said McLellan was “very compliant” with officers at the time of the arrest.
The slashings came after two women were stabbed onboard a Toronto subway train last week, leaving one of them dead.
In that incident, police said the suspect, who was arrested and charged, didn’t know the victims.
In her first media briefing Tuesday, Seremetkovski encouraged the public to be vigilant in the city but didn’t want individuals to panic.
“We still are a very safe city,” she said.
“From 2018 to present, there (hasn’t) been much of an increase in our unprovoked assaults that have taken place in the city. So this is still very much a safe city.”
After the random slashings, police patrols were stepped up along the Yonge corridor, while shelters and business stakeholders in the area were contacted, Seremetkovski said.