Joachim Lessard was charged with attempted murder.

Ottawa police say they have arrested a 42-year-old man after two late-night stabbings downtown on Oct. 1.

Joachim Lessard was charged with two counts each of attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. In a media release, the Ottawa Police Service confirmed that the two stabbings near the Rideau Centre were connected and that they appeared to have been “random.”

Emergency crews responded to a call about the first incident on Rideau Street near Sussex Drive at about 2:47 a.m., and treated a woman who had been stabbed and had life-threatening injuries, police said.

“Seeking safety, the woman boarded an OC Transpo bus, where she received medical treatment,” police said.

The woman was stabilized by first responders and transferred to the hospital, according to Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson Marc-Antoine Deschamps.

Deschamps said the woman was in “life-threatening condition.”

Police said the second stabbing was reported to them after 3 a.m., near Daly Avenue and Waller Street.

In that incident, Deschamps said a man was stabbed and had non-life-threatening injuries. He added the man was being treated in hospital and was listed in serious condition.

Police said Lessard was arrested near the scene of the second stabbing.

Police said that Rideau Street would be closed between Sussex Drive and Dalhousie Street as they continued the investigation and that “downtown Ottawa will see a heavy police presence throughout the day.”

The usually busy area in front of the Rideau Centre was eerily quiet on Thursday morning, without the pedestrians, cars and buses that often buzz around.

Police were redirecting pedestrians away from the taped-off crime scene.

Inside the yellow tape that cordoned off much of Rideau Street sat an OC Transpo bus with its doors standing open and a bloodied entryway.

Police said there were no other suspects and no known risk to public safety.