A 32-year-old man has been charged in connection to two assaults in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood, which police say may be related to several other violent attacks.
Insp. Bryan Bott of the Toronto police homicide squad announced the arrest during a press conference Tuesday morning, adding that the suspect is only considered a "person of interest" in as many as five other attacks, including one in which a victim died in hospital days later.
"We are seeking further evidence to either include or exclude him in the homicide and the other incidents," Bott told reporters.
Ricardo Morrison, 32, of Toronto, was charged with two counts of assault bodily harm, in relation to assaults reported on April 2 and 5 in the west-end neighbourhood of Parkdale,
Dan Chiarelli, 45, was attacked while walking in the Maynard Avenue and Leopold Street area on April 5, making him the seventh person to be attacked in the area since the start of the year.
On Tuesday, he told CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry that news of an arrest offered him no relief.
"I am full of stress and anxiety," he said. "I am trying to move, but I am still trying to find a place."
Local police have been warning residents not to walk alone after dark and stepped up patrols in an attempt to curb a spate of sudden attacks that began in January.
Toronto's homicide unit became involved after George Wass, 62, died of injuries suffered during an attack on March 22.
Bott said that no one has been charged in the death of Wass and four other Parkdale assaults and asked anyone with information with respect to the investigation to call police at 416-808-1906 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
With a report from CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry
