Multiple stabbings at Toronto office building send four to hospital

Toronto police say a 45-year-old man is in custody following multiple stabbings inside a large office building that left at least four people injured, one in critical condition.

Police said the attack happened just after 9:30 a.m. ET Wednesday on the fifth floor of an office complex at 4110 Yonge St., near York Mills Avenue in the city's north end.

Police received numerous 911 calls of an assailant attacking people with "a sharp instrument" police believe may have been a knife.

They say the suspect was subdued by employees until police arrived. Police confirmed the man is an employee of the business where the attack took place. They would not name the business.

On Wednesday afternoon, a statement was issued by Ceridian, the parent company of Dayforce, whose employees were attacked.

"At approximately 9:30 a.m. today, four Ceridian employees were attacked by a former employee at our Toronto office," said the statement from Ceridian CEO David Ossip and president Dave MacKay.

While Ceridian did not identify the suspect or the wounded employees, the company said "the entire Ceridian family is shocked and deeply saddened by this incident."

The suspect was not injured in the incident. Footage from outside the office building showed a man wearing a striped blue office shirt and dress pants being led into a police cruiser.

The four people who were taken to hospital with stab wounds are:

• A 32-year-old woman who is in critical condition.

• A man who is in "very serious condition."

• Two other men with wounds police say are less serious.

The fifth floor of the large office building remained in lockdown early Wednesday afternoon.

A trickle of people were allowed to leave other floors of the building. One woman leaving the building told CBC News she had been through too much and did not wish to speak to reporters.

Reporting from the scene, CBC's Lorenda Reddekopp said the building where the attack took place is part of a large complex of office buildings.

Speaking about the building where the stabbings occurred, she said: "There are a number of different companies in this building. We've seen several people leaving through the underground garage. They told us they were surprised that something like this would happen here."