Toronto police have charged a man in connection with two assaults in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood.

Police said at a Tuesday news conference they had charged 32-year-old Parkdale man Ricardo Morrison with two counts of assault causing bodily harm for assaults that occurred on April 2 and April 5.

Police had issued a public safety alert after a string of seven assaults since January in the same neighbourhood left many residents feeling scared and vulnerable. Many of the victims have mental health issues.

Parkdale resident Dan Chiraelli, 45, was attacked on April 5. ((CBC))

One of the attacks was labelled a homicide after George Wass, 62, died in hospital March 21 after collapsing at his home. He was attacked the previous week outside his boarding house in the Queen Street West-Jameson Avenue area.

Insp. Brian Bott of the Toronto police homicide squad said Morrison is a person of interest in Wass's death but added "we are seeking further evidence to either include him or exclude him."

Dan Chiraelli, a Parkdale resident who was attacked on April 5, said he knows Morrison, who lived in the same building. Chiraelli suffered a black eye and a split lip in the blind-side attack.

Chiraelli, 45, told CBC News he's happy about the arrest.

"It was good news for me," Chiraelli told CBC News. "I'm happy about it. It's unfortunate the man who died [Wass] hasn't been resolved yet."