Toronto police have identified the suspect in a triple stabbing at a military recruitment centre as 27-year-old Ayanle Hassan Ali.
Ali now faces nine charges in total, including two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a weapon, against Jesus Castillo, Tracy Ann Gerhardt and Ryan Kong.
Ali also faces charges of aggravated assault against Castillo and Kong, plus one charge of carrying a weapon “for a purpose dangerous to the public peace.”
Ali was born in Montreal but moved to Toronto in 2011.
In the hours following the incident, police said they were looking at terrorism as a possible motive, but they now say it appears he was working alone.
Chief Mark Saunders said that Ali has no previous record, and is not answering questions posed by police officers.
"There is nothing that indicates any contact with police," said Saunders.
He added that the suspect believes God told him to attack the soldiers.
"He said 'Allah told me to do this. Allah told me to come here and kill people,'" said Saunders.
Police say they aren’t sure of the motive for the attack, and police say there is nothing to suggest he was working with any organization.
"One thing that I'm going to be very, very careful of when it comes to the national security piece (is) that we don't go through that Islamophobia nonsense," Saunders said on Tuesday morning.
Saunders said Ali entered the recruitment centre at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
A master corporal sitting at a front desk noticed a man carrying a "large knife," and called out to him, but was ignored.
The uniformed Forces member approached the man, who allegedly slashed him on the upper arm. The man then continued into the recruitment office.
Saunders told the media that the man approached another member, but she was uninjured. At that time, a group of soldiers subdued the man, but another soldier was stabbed during the process.
Both stabbing victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Ali was also taken to hospital because police say he seemed unresponsive.
Defence attorney David Burke would not comment when asked if his client had any mental health issues.
Burke told reporters his client “seems alright” but is “obviously very, very upset and you can imagine he’s probably pretty scared.”
Police are hoping to speak with Ali’s family and neighbours to determine a possible motive for the attack.
He also refused to comment on what Ali does for work or whether he is religious.
“I know about as much about the actual facts around the case as you people do,” he added.
Former RCMP commissioner Norman Inkster said he questions the state of mind of the attacker.
"I think at the end of the day, after consultation with the RCMP and CSIS, I'm reasonably confident they'll conclude it was someone acting alone and in need of help," he said.
With files from CTVNews.ca writer Kendra Mangione
