Two men and two women were taken to hospital after being stabbed at a residence in Abbotsford on Saturday evening.
Reports indicate that two of the four were critically injured, and one of the women was taken to hospital by air ambulance, which landed at Ten-Broeck elementary, not far from the scene.
The incident occurred at about 8:40 p.m. in a basement suite in the 31400 block of Springhlll Court, off Springhill Street and south of Old Yale Road, and was a domestic dispute.
Const. Ian MacDonald said people from the suite began fleeing the scene, and passersby called police to report that a man was stabbing people.
MacDonald said police arrived to a chaotic scene and, at first, did not know whether the attacks were random. They soon determined that the people involved knew each other, and they arrested a man in his 30s in the basement suite.
The suspect, not related to any of the victims, was arrested and is expected to face charges that could include aggravated assault, MacDonald said. He cannot be named until charges are formally laid, possibly on Monday.
MacDonald said the man is known to police for offences that include drug charges.
All the victims – two women, ages 18 and 37, and two men, ages 19 and 35 – have survived the attack, with one still recovering in hospital.
A man posting on Facebook said that he was at the scene, and that one woman was stabbed in the eye while another had her throat slit. That man said he was also stabbed when he tried to intervene.
"I fought him as best as I could. I'm in the hospital waiting for surgery. Lost so much blood," he posted.
The man posted again to Facebook a few hours later, saying he had returned home from the hospital after receiving treatment for a cut tendon on his hand and 50 stitches in his arm.
He said he did not know the assailant, who showed up at the residence and was known by someone else there.
Numerous police, fire and ambulance personnel were on the scene.
The Abbotsford Police Department's major crime unit and forensics identification unit are continuing to investigate, including the motive and circumstances surrounding the stabbings.