Police said that the attack happened when prayers were underway at the Nanaksar Gurdwara. The police have neither disclosed the suspect’s identity nor commented on a possible motive.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested following a stabbing attack that left two people injured at a gurdwara in Canada’s Edmonton, police said. The incident took place early Friday morning (local time).

Police said that the attack happened when prayers were underway at the Nanaksar Gurdwara. The police have neither disclosed the suspect’s identity nor commented on a possible motive.

At a news conference hours after the attack, Acting Inspector Eric Stewart with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said the force’s hate crimes investigation unit was probing the incident.

He said the police first received a report of a man walking in traffic and later were informed about the stabbing. Stewart said the suspect entered the gurdwara and attempted to access the prayer room there before stabbing two men, aged 75 and 51.

According to the police, “quick-acting witnesses” intervened and overpowered the attacker. He was taken into custody after police arrived at the scene.

The injured men were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said. While the police described the duo as worshippers, Zora Grewal, vice president of the Nanaksar Gurdwara, said they were a priest and a volunteer.

The suspect also sustained injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Stewart said the man is known to the police and has a criminal background involving a significant history of violence.

He said the police have learnt that the alleged attacker was released from a federal prison in Alberta on Thursday, a day before the gurdwara stabbing.

The man had been serving a sentence over charges including aggravated assault. After getting released, he failed to report to his designated halfway house in Edmonton.

Condemning the attack, Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, said the incident was appalling and thanked the EPS for its “swift response.”

“The attack at the Nanaksar Gurdwara in Edmonton this morning is appalling. My thoughts are with the two people who were injured and the wider community that is shaken by this terrible event. No one should ever feel unsafe in their place of worship. I want to thank the Edmonton Police Service for their swift response,” he wrote in a post on X.

Charges were still pending against the suspect at the time Stewart addressed the press.