Toronto police have identified a man stabbed to death in the city's first homicide of the year.

Ian Dyer, 36, died of a single stab wound to his upper body in a highrise apartment building in Scarborough early Sunday, according to Det. Paul Worden of the Toronto Police Service. Dyer was from Toronto.

Police and paramedics were called to a 12th floor unit at 40 Gordonridge Place, near Danforth Road and Midland Avenue, at 12:24 a.m. for a report of a stabbing.

"It's my understanding that the building has had a troubled past. Unfortunately, violence is not uncommon there," Worden told reporters on Sunday.

The 12th floor, in particular, has been known for "heavy" drug activity, he added.

Victim alone when killed, police say

When officers arrived, they located Dyer with life-threatening injuries and no vital signs. Attempts were made to save his life but he was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

Ian Dyer, 36, found stabbed to death early Sunday in a Scarborough apartment building. He is Toronto's first homicide victim of the year. (Toronto Police Service)

"He wasn't doing anything of a criminal nature at the time he was killed. Everything was fine, according to the people who were last with him," Worden said.

Police believe Dyer, who was known to police, was alone at the time his killer entered the apartment. He was staying with friends in the building and he had been there for the past few days.

Detectives have narrowed down the time in which they believe he was killed and Worden said it was likely between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Dyer was with friends earlier in the evening.

A large dog, believed to be a German Shepherd, got out of the apartment in which Dyer was in and made its way to another floor around the time of the killing. Police want to know how it got there.

"There would have been noise coming from that apartment," Worden told reporters.

Toronto police's homicide squad has taken over the investigation into the city's first homicide of the year. (John Hanley/CBC)

Police are appealing for anyone in the building who saw anybody suspicious, heard any commotion, or saw Dyer, to come forward. In particular, detectives want to talk to anyone who was on the 12th floor.

Officers have already spoken to people who were with Dyer before the stabbing. Police are also trying to track Dyer's movements on the day before he was killed.

The highrise where the fatal stabbing occurred is a Toronto Community Housing (TCH) building. TCH, a public agency owned by the city, provides social housing.

Police reviewing security camera video from scene

Worden said detectives are reviewing security camera video obtained from the lobby and elevators.

"The surveillance video will play a big part," he said.

"We want to make sure the information we've been provided is accurate and truthful."

Police said no weapon has been recovered and no suspect information is available. Worden said police do not know if more than one person was involved in the stabbing.

Officers have secured the scene and Toronto police's homicide squad has taken over the investigation. The building will be held by police as officers continue to investigate.

TCH helping police with investigation

Bruce Malloch, spokesperson for Toronto Community Housing, said the agency encourages tenants with any information about the stabbing to speak to police.

"Our community safety unit is assisting Toronto police with its investigation and our staff will be at the building today to assess the need for community supports and to co-ordinate these supports as required," he said.

The stabbing occurred in an apartment building called Gordonridge Place. It's part of Toronto Community Housing in southwest Scarborough. (James Morrison-Collalto/CBC )

The death is the second fatal stabbing in the same building in fewer than nine months.

On April 21, 2018, Joel Newby, 23, was stabbed to death inside a unit in the building. Worden said police do not believe the two stabbings are related.

'I don't feel safe here'

In the face of rising violence on the public housing property, however, building residents told reporters they fear for their safety.

"I don't feel safe here after all that," said Barbara Wilkinson, who has lived in the highrise for six years.

Three months ago, Wilkinson claims her apartment door was vandalized.

"I had somebody write life-threatening things that I better keep my mouth quiet or I could end up dead," she said.

"I told the housing about it and they pretty well said, 'Oh, well, maybe somebody had a bad day when they wrote that on my door,' and I thought, 'You gotta be kidding.'"

TCH says they have added more security officers on the grounds following the fatal stabbing and are "reviewing the need for third-party security."

"TCHC has identified the Gordonridge complex as a priority for 2019, based on the number of violent incidents and mental-health related incidents in the community, which have increased over the past year," Malloch told CBC Toronto in an email.

"TCHC will work Toronto Police Service, the City of Toronto, community agencies and tenants to develop strategies to address safety issues at this community."

Police chief hoping for 'different' year

The first homicide of 2019 also follows a year of record-setting violence in Toronto. Last year, the city recorded 96 homicides, surpassing the previous record of 89 homicides, set in 1991.

According to police statistics, 51 of the homicides last year were shootings, 20 were stabbings and 25 were by "other means." The last category includes the 10 deaths that resulted from a van attack in April.

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders, in a year-end news conference in late December, told reporters that he was hoping 2019 would be different from 2018.

Saunders said 2018 was "incredibly busy" for the department because so many people lost their lives and last year was "unique" because of the van attack and Danforth shooting in July.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders speaks to reporters at a year-end news conference on Thursday, saying he hopes 2019 is a 'different' year from 2018. (Christopher Katsarov/Canadian Press)

"I'm certainly not looking for another year like that in the foreseeable future," Saunders said of 2018.

"I'm not looking at an upward trend. I think this was a unique year where there was a lot of loss of life. I do believe that next year will be a different year."

Homicide squad expanding

For his part, Insp. Hank Idsinga, new leader of Toronto's homicide squad, has said the increase in violence has prompted the police force to revamp the unit.

That means hiring more members and creating a video analysis unit to help solve cases faster.

In a December interview with CBC Toronto, Idsinga said the homicide numbers were due to "senseless" violence.

"What we're seeing this year is very, very senseless murders just happening all over the place in the city," he said.