A man has been arrested and charged with murder after a mother of eight was stabbed to death in an underground food court in Toronto's financial district, according to a police press release.

CTV Toronto reports that the alleged attacker is the victim’s son.

The victim, identified as Rae Cara Carrington, was attacked Wednesday evening by a male suspect in a food court located in an underground walkway near King and Bay streets. The suspect then fled on foot.

Police said Carrington had life-threatening injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

“It was eerie the way she was screaming, just like spine tingling, blood curdling,” a woman who identified herself as Beverly told CTV Toronto.

"(She was) screaming her head off, hysterically. I ran to see what was happening and I heard somebody say that somebody had come up to the counter and pulled a huge knife.”

Duncan O’Neil Sinclair, 19, of Toronto has been charged with first-degree murder after being arrested by Southern Georgian Bay OPP on Friday.

Sinclair is scheduled to appear in court on April 13. The charge against him has not been proven in court.

Victim's friends say she was 'ray of sunshine'

Carrington, who worked at the food counter where the attack took place, had been living in a women’s shelter. Those who knew the victim described her as a “ray of sunshine.”

“I said to her, ‘You know why they call you Rae? Because you’re a ray of sunshine,’” Nancy Freckleton, who works in the building, told CTV Toronto. “She was. She was a lovely, lovely lady.”

Although not confirmed by police, CTV Toronto is reporting that Sinclair is Carrington’s son.

Police have said they believe the attack was targeted and that the public was not at risk.

This is not the first fatal stabbing to take place in Toronto’s underground PATH system. In 2015, Rosemarie Junor was fatally stabbed by a stranger in a Shopper Drug Mart. Rohinie Bisesar was found not criminally responsible for the attack last year.

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With files from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney