Man Goes on Wild Stabbing Rampage at Vancouver Apartment Building -- Gun Control Debate Ensues

Vancouver police are investigating multiple stabbings at an apartment in the 1200-block of Barclay Street. Jan. 31, 2013. (CTV)

Vancouver police on Thursday night arrested a seemingly deranged man who ran through the hallway of an apartment building stabbing and slicing people at random.

The stabbing rampage left seven people injured, six of which were taken to the hospital and one remains in critical condition, according to officials. Three of those individuals had been released from the hospital as of Friday morning.

Witnesses described a terrifying scene to CTV News where a 33-year-old man began stabbing residents for no reason.

"There were about six or eight cop cars on the scene. People were hanging over their balconies directing police, so obviously they could see the [suspect]," witness Angela Robinson told CTV News.

"I heard the police shout, 'Vancouver Police, stay where you are,' a few times and then I thought it would be best to get out of there," she added.

Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham said the only thing the stabbing victims have in common is the fact that they live in the same apartment building and were unfortunately around when the stabbing spree began. Investigators are still trying to determine motive.

"It appears that a lot of these victims were unrelated to each other and they had no dealings with each other tonight," Fincham said.

“It was a very vicious, very serious attack. There were multiple victims in this,” he added.

Police eventually found and arrested a 33-year-old man they believe to be the suspect. Officials don't think he is a resident of the apartment complex. The suspect had not been charged as of Friday afternoon.

"We're looking at how he got into the building, or what he was doing in the building at that time," Fincham explained.

Some have already took to social networks like Twitter to mock gun control by sarcastically calling for a "knife registry" and "knife control."

Seven people injured after mass stabbing in Vancouver soc.li/ib7dZeO {sarcasm on} #KnifeControl #KnifeRegistry {sarcasm off}

— edwardmba (@edwardmba) February 1, 2013

Is a knife registry needed?Four Vancouver stabbing victims remain in hospital, one critically injured soc.li/8IdNS8F #ldnont

— Elaine Murray (@emlaughsallot88) February 1, 2013

A Vancouver man goes on a stabbing spree! I'm calling for tighter knife control! Take everyone's knifes away.

— Mike Doran (@miked65) February 1, 2013

Meanwhile, others argued that there were no fatalities because the man used a knife instead of a gun -- meaning gun control worked.

Yet another example of a knife rampage without a casualty. Can we now stop equating the lethality of guns and knives?m.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-c…

— Alexander Cutler (@wheresthemind) February 1, 2013

MT @kevinmilligan: Violent rampage in Vancouver. Suspect had only knife. Result: 7 injuries, no deaths. theglobeandmail.com/news/british-c…

— davidfrum (@davidfrum) February 1, 2013

And this is why gun control works: Canadian nut goes on rampage, no one dies ctvnews.ca/canada/vancouv… End of discussion.

— GabriellePrendergast (@GabrielleSaraP) February 1, 2013

Prime Minister Stephen Harper previously bragged that Canada has much stricter gun control laws than the U.S. In an interview with Quebec's TVA network, he said that "the most important thing to remember is that Canada has a gun control system that is much more strong and strict than the Americans."

According to gunpolicy.org, the right of private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law in Canada. Instead, a chief firearms officer determines whether a person is eligible to own a firearm based on an array of qualifications.

Featured image via shutterstock.com