2 arrested after 3 men attacked with fire extinguishers and stabbed in apparently random attacks

Two men have been arrested after three strangers were sprayed with fire extinguishers and then stabbed in apparently random attacks in downtown Calgary last week, police say.

The Calgary Police Service said in a release on Tuesday that investigators believe the attacks were "done simply to intentionally cause harm to others."

The three victims were stabbed within eight minutes of each other at about 4 a.m. on Dec. 21 in nearby locations in the downtown core.

The first victim was near the LRT platform at Seventh Avenue and Fourth Street S.W. when he was sprayed with a fire extinguisher and stabbed in the lower back, police said. 

He went to a nearby medical facility for help and was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition.

Then a man who was sleeping in a bus shelter near Seventh Avenue and Fourth Street S.W. was sprayed with a fire extinguisher and stabbed in the abdomen.

He managed to get to the LRT station and use the help line to reach emergency assistance, police said.

He was also rushed to hospital in serious but stable condition.

The third attack happened at another LRT station, at Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street S.W.

A man left a CTrain and was walking on the platform when he was sprayed with a fire extinguisher and stabbed in the lower back and rib cage, police said.

He was  taken to hospital in serious but stable condition.

Police said they were able to get descriptions of two offenders thanks to high-quality CCTV images from transit property.

They searched a residence in the 900 block of Seventh Avenue S.W. last Thursday and arrested two men.

Asher Atter, 21, and Jaymes Richardson, 29, have been charged with three counts each of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, as well as other charges.

They're scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 4.