Friends of a 25-year-old man who was chased down and stabbed to death in Toronto’s downtown core say they’re still trying to come to terms with his violent death.

Simon Zerezghi died on Jan. 29 after a group of up to 10 men swarmed him on Yonge Street, just south of Wellesley Street, and stabbed him in the chest.

Witnesses reported seeing Zerezghi collapse on Yonge Street’s centre line as the suspects fled on foot.

Though police initially indicated that Zerezghi was homeless, Lucy Gudgeon of Houselink Community Homes, which works to provide housing to people with mental health challenges, says Zerezghi was thriving and had an apartment.

“I’m sick about it,” she said, shaking her head. “I feel sick about it.”

According to Gudgeon, Zerezghi became an orphan at six years old and immigrated to Canada from Eritrea in 2012.

Zerezghi came into Gudgeon’s care in 2016 and, despite difficult beginnings, she says he worked hard to turn his life around.

On the night he was stabbed, Gudgeon had made plans to grocery shop with Zerezghi. She said she was likely waiting for him in her office when he died.

“To just be chased by these people like a pack of dogs chasing him and then cutting him down on the street,” she said, choking back tears. “I think it was snowing that night, freezing cold, just to think of him lying in the snow… I’m sick about it.”

A friend of Zerezghi, Paulo Lamvu, told CTV News Toronto that the 25-year-old was a good friend who helped him out when he was homeless.

“Simon had taken me in at a point in my life where I had burned all my bridges,” Lamvu said. “I had no friends, couldn’t call my family because I was too embarrassed.”

Since his death, police say a number of witnesses have come forward to speak with investigators. Despite this, they have not released any information on possible suspects nor have any arrests been made.

Police say surveillance camera footage has been obtained from the area but that they’re not yet ready to provide it to the public.

“He struggled with not always having a lot in his life, but he was always very generous. He would often try to give me half of his sandwich,” Sandy Watter of Central Toronto Youth Services told CTV News Toronto.

Watter said news of Zerezghi’s sudden death shocked her, as she had noticed he had made strides to improve his life recently. Aside from his apartment, Zerezghi had a good group of friends and a dog he loved dearly.

“I thought, ‘Really, now?’ It’s sort of a state of disbelief. He was doing good, not now,” she said.

Anyone with information about the incident is being asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Janice Golding