Toronto police say a suspect charged in a random stabbing on Tuesday was convicted of an "eerily similar" crime in the city five years.

However, investigators said the man was found not criminally responsible for his actions in 2003 by reason of a mental illness.

Police say a 26-year-old woman is lucky to be alive after she was repeatedly stabbed in the stomach by a stranger at about 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The victim, a student, was standing at a bus stop in the Broadview and Danforth Avenues intersection when she was attacked without provocation.

Several people witnessed the attack and called 911. One woman rushed to the victim's aid and helped her put pressure on her wounds while others followed a suspect, police said.

"There was a woman across the street yelling 'Help me, help me,'" said Margot Hines, who rushed to the woman's side. "She was bleeding a lot. I don't know where it was coming from, it was gushing."

Hines said the woman asked her if she was going to die. Hines did her best to soothe her fears by asking her about her family.

When police arrived, witnesses helped them identify a suspect. Authorities arrested a man a short distance from the crime scene.

The victim was taken to St. Michael's Hospital and is listed in stable condition.

"She suffered serious life-threatening injuries and if possibly not for the assistance she received from citizens right there on the street, this could have been a homicide," Det. Darren Laing told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

"(Her father) advises that she's doing much better today. She's alert, she's awake, she's talking and there was hope she would be moved out of (intensive care unit) later today."

Laing said the woman was simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He said police and the victim's father are frustrated because the suspect committed an "eerily similar" attack in 2003, stabbing an elderly man in a random attack at a west-end mall.

The suspect was convicted of aggravated assault but found not criminally responsible by the Ontario Review Board and granted an absolute discharge in 2007, Laing said. The man was then released into the community with no conditions or restrictions on him.

Following Tuesday's incident, police charged Samad Dabiri, 47, with:

  • Attempted murder
  • Assault with a weapon
  • Carrying a concealed weapon

Laing believes the case will once again be taken out of the criminal courts and appear in the mental health courts. The detective wouldn't say what illness the accused suffers from.

Dabiri, meanwhile, appeared at the College Park courts on Wednesday and was remanded into custody until Friday.