Three Hamilton, Ontario, police officers are in hospital after they were stabbed while responding to a call for a person in crisis on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said they were dispatched to an area in downtown Hamilton at around 3 p.m. after receiving reports about an individual who was in possession of a weapon and acting erratically.

Witnesses told CP24 they saw a man harassing people and causing a commotion in the area, trying to hug one person and chasing another down the block while screaming at him.

Officers arrived at the scene and engaged the man and that’s when three of them sustained stab wounds to their necks and heads, police said.

A witness said it took about five minutes for officers to restrain the suspect and about half an hour later he was put into an ambulance.

The officers were then transported to hospital in stable condition, where they remain