A 23-year-old Toronto man has been charged with attempted murder following a stabbing inside a downtown mosque.

Police said two men known to each other got in an argument at the Downtown Muslim Community centre on Parliament Street, near Shuter Street, at about 6 p.m. Tuesday night.

During the confrontation, a 21-year-old man was stabbed with a large knife. The badly wounded victim managed to run away from the assailant.

The attacker also fled, but returned to the mosque. He then turned the knife on himself, attempting to take his own life. He was able to walk out of the mosque but collapsed a short distance away, police said.

Both men were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police cordoned off the area.

Mafas Hashem has been charged with:

  • Attempted murder;
  • Assault with a weapon;
  • Weapons dangerous; and
  • Carrying a concealed weapon.

Hashem was to appear at the College Parks courts on Wednesday.