Toronto police's forensic unit arrives at an office building following a stabbing in Toronto, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. A man stabbed four of his colleagues at a Toronto office building before being subdued, police said Wednesday.TORONTO - An employee of a human resources company stabbed his superiors while being fired at a Toronto office building, police said Wednesday.
Police said four people were injured, including one woman who has life-threatening injuries.
Chuang Li, 47, faces three counts of attempted murder and four counts of aggravated assault with a knife.
"He was being fired and I guess then he proceeded to get involved in stabbing some of his bosses and some other employees," said Dan Darnbrough, a Toronto police detective.
Darnbrough said employees held the man before police arrived. A 32-year-old woman and three men between the ages of 35 and 45 were injured, he said. Three remain hospitalized.
Ceridian, a global payroll and human resources company based in Bloomington, Minnesota, said four of its employees were attacked by a "former employee." Asked if the man attacked after being fired, Ceridian released a statement that said "due to employee confidentiality guidelines, we are unable to share any additional information."
Police earlier said they were called at about 9:30 a.m. local time with reports that "a man with scissors" had entered the business and began stabbing people.
Television footage showed police putting a handcuffed man, wearing a bloodied shirt, into a police car. The man turned his head while in the backseat and said hello to a TV camera pointed at him.
The man is due in court on Thursday. Policed locked down the building's fifth floor to collect evidence.
Steve Paraskevopoulos, who worked on the fourth floor of the building, recalls hearing a commotion coming from above.
"It was kind of a stampede kind of sound," he said. "It was an odd thing, we have thick slab concrete floors. You never hear a thing from somebody above you unless there's construction."
Paraskevopoulos later saw the victims, who were smeared with noticeable traces of blood.
"There was one guy who looked like he took a stab across the head, it was all bandaged up," he said.