Two staff members were stabbed at Halifax's Hope Cottage Friday evening.

Police said a man inside caused a disturbance at about 5 p.m. Staff escorted the 19-year-old out of the building, but he allegedly stabbed them.

Two men, aged 58 and 30, were treated at hospital for minor wounds.

Police arrested the 19-year-old and he faces weapons charges.

Hope Cottage offers free meals to people who need them.

Ed Hollett handles the door at the cottage. He's been there 17 years.

He said the man came in with his girlfriend and the two started arguing. Hollett separated them and told the man to go.

"He refused to go. He came up in my face and pushed me, so I pushed him back," Hollett said.

Hollett says when the man came at him a third time, Hollett hit him.

"When he staggered back my coworkers jumped in to grab him and throw him out the door. I guess he had a knife in his pocket. He reached in his pocket and stabbed both of them," he said. "It was pretty crazy."

Hollett said one staffer was stabbed in the side and the other in the back.

"I feel terrible because I held back on hitting him too hard because I didn't want to hurt him. Now I wish I'd hit him harder," he said.

Hollett, who is a former boxer, says he's been told by officers that he won't be charged with assault because he was acting in self-defence.

The couple had been coming in regularly for a couple of months. Hollett said life is usually pretty calm at Hope Cottage and violence is rare.

He expects staff will review the incident to see if they can improve any policies.