Police in Toronto see the driver of a U-Haul truck arrested

The driver of a stolen U-Haul truck has been arrested on suspicion of carjacking another man at gunpoint and then leading police on a chase through the streets of Toronto.

Police said officers were in the area of ​​Danforth and Worden avenues around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 6 as part of an investigation into the stabbing of an off-duty officer outside the Scarborough Best Buy.

Insp. Maher Abdel-Malik said police located the suspect in the stolen U-Haul in the area and attempted to stop the vehicle.

However, police say the suspect refused to stop and got into a “fight” with responding officers.

As a result, several officers were slightly injured, Abdel-Malik said.

“At that time, we also learned that this person actually kidnapped a citizen with a weapon. This citizen was taken to a safe place and the suspect took off in U-Haul,” said Abdel-Malik. “Officers did not engage with the man at the time and when we called for assistance from York Regional Police they provided a helicopter.

Abdel-Malik said police tracked the U-Haul on its way downtown and eventually decided to box it in along Carlton Street near Church Street with the help of members of the Emergency Task Force.

Pictures from the scene show a U-Haul in the middle of the road. Several ETF vehicles are seen as well as a tow truck that appears to have hit the side of the U-Haul.

A 49-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

Police believe he is responsible for the Dec. 6 stabbing that left an off-duty police officer critically injured after he intervened in an attempted robbery.

Police have not released any further details about the abduction, including when and where it happened.

“We're very happy with how this story ended,” Abdel-Malik said. “There were no members of the public injured, some officers suffered minor injuries, but overall it was a positive outcome to the incident.”

A panel truck is shown involved in a pursuit that ended in downtown Toronto Wednesday afternoon.

U-HAUL WAS INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE COLLISIONS

Abdel-Malik said there were multiple reports of the crash when the U-Haul fled the scene.

He said the pursuit continued for “some time” and eventually the decision was made to call off the pursuit along Carlton Street after the car sustained some damage.

“It was the safest time to get the car out,” he said. “The outcome could have been catastrophic, especially for a suspect armed with a firearm, and it turned out very well.”

Police are asking anyone who may have been involved in a collision with a U-Haul traveling downtown to contact investigators.

Police have not yet said what charges the suspect will face.

The suspect was reportedly arrested after a police raid downtown.