Moments after Chuang Li was fired from his job Wednesday morning, police allege he stabbed three managers in a North York office building before turning the weapon on another employee.

Early information suggests Li, 47, was brought into a fifth-floor office in Ceridian’s human resources department shortly after 9 a.m., where two managers broke the news, said Det. Dan Darnbrough.

“He had just been fired and he was being told to leave,” Darnbrough said.

Police believe Li stabbed both managers — a woman and man — “several times.” The woman was stabbed in the abdomen, stomach and face, and the man was stabbed in the chest and abdomen, Darnbrough said.

It is not yet known whether either was Li’s supervisor.

As Li tried to leave the room, he was met by another human resources manager who had heard the commotion from his adjoining office, Darnbrough said.







Li allegedly stabbed that manager above the left eye before running through the main part of the office, where he allegedly stabbed an employee who may have tried to stop him, Darnbrough said.

“There was a big scene there as well,” he said.

Darnbrough said he could not yet confirm the weapon was a knife because scissors were also found at the scene.

Employees at Ceridian, a human resources services and payroll company, subdued Li until police arrived at the building on Yonge St., north of York Mills Rd.

By that point, Darnbrough said, Li “had calmed down.”

Li has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, four courts of aggravated assault, and four counts of assault with a weapon.

On Wednesday evening, Darnbrough said the female manager, in her early 30s, was in surgery for treatment of life-threatening injuries, but was in stable condition. The other two managers remained in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The employee had been released.

Darnbrough said he believes Li was a computer programmer at Ceridian.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” said a statement from company CEO David Ossip and president Dave MacKay.

“As you might imagine, this is a very difficult time. The entire Ceridian family is shocked and deeply saddened by this incident,” they said.

The company declined to provide further details.

Neighbours in Li’s tidy suburban enclave in northwest Mississauga said he lives with his wife and teenage daughter. They described Li, who many knew as Ray, as a kind man who enjoyed tennis and gardening.

“He’s a very nice, quiet guy,” said Chris Pokora. “He’s a family man. What will they do now?”

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Neighbour William Sidora said he often saw Li walking his small dog and riding his bike with his daughter.

“He would walk the street with a smile on his face,” said Sidora.

A teenage girl who answered the door at Li’s house on Wednesday declined to comment. A woman returned to the house in the evening and police also visited.

Ceridian is located in the Yonge Corporate Centre and is part of a complex of several connected office buildings. The complex was on lockdown for several hours.

Renata Iannucci, who was on the fourth floor of the building, said she heard a “ruckus” upstairs around 9 a.m. “It was a loud thumping noise. It sounded like furniture being dropped,” she said.

Tony Bitonti, a spokesman for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. who works in an adjacent building, said he saw two injured men walking with paramedics to waiting ambulances.

“We’re all kind of in a stunned state of shock,” he said

Employees from the fifth floor began to leave the building by midday, many exiting through the underground parking garage. Those on foot refused to talk, aside from one man who said: “Somebody got angry and started stabbing people.”

A police forensics team was on site for much of the day. Officers were seen towing away a four-door, silver Toyota Corolla from the parking garage in the early afternoon.

Malcolm Steven, who works in business development, was in his car about to head into a meeting next to the building when he saw four police cars race by.

He said he also saw firefighters and building security running up the driveway.

“When you see that many police officers, you know this is not just for somebody who had a heart attack,” he said.

“It’s so sad. You hear of these things in the States, but you never expect it here.”

A woman from the fifth floor of the building started to speak, but ran off when she saw cameras. She said she was in the kitchen on the fifth floor and heard screaming and banging on the walls.

Li is scheduled to appear in court at 10 a.m. Thursday.