A woman was killed and six people were wounded Saturday in a stabbing in a quiet neighborhood in Vancouver, in western Canada.

Police quickly arrested the attacker, whose motives are still unknown.

Six people were taken to hospital after the attack, which occurred on Saturday afternoon local time, near a municipal library in the relatively upscale Lynn Valley neighborhood in North Vancouver. 

"We have six victims who were stabbed," said Sergeant Frank Zhang of the Criminal Police during a press conference, referring to the death of a female victim of her wounds.

However, in response to questions from Agence France-Presse, the police later clarified that the woman who died of her wounds was not among the six wounded, which raises the temporary toll to one dead and six wounded.

Zhang said that the suspect is known to police and has a history, it seems, without any further explanations.

Police have not yet questioned the suspect, nor have they released his name. 

"We think the arrested person is the only suspect. We think we know who, when, how and where. We should now know why," Zhang said.

The attack, which took place in a quiet neighborhood in the north of the city on the Atlantic Ocean, shocked police and witnesses.

"To say the least, the attack shocked everyone, even the police," Zhang told reporters at the crime scene.

- 'At random' -

Justin Prasad, who works near the library, told Agence France-Presse, "It is especially shocking that he was stabbing people randomly. After he started stabbing people near the library, chaos ensued, I saw him confronting the police, and then he fled and the police chased him, surrounded him and threw him to the ground."

CTV broadcast a video clip showing the arrest of the suspect, who appeared to be stabbing himself in the leg before collapsing and being arrested by the police.

Sergeant Jang asked potential witnesses to provide statements and people who had video clips to hand them over to investigators instead of posting them on social media.

"My heart is in North Vancouver tonight," the Canadian Prime Minister said in a tweet to the families of the victims, adding "To all those affected by the violent incident in Lynn Valley, know that all Canadians sympathize with you and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded."

Public Security Minister Bill Blair expressed his "shock and sorrow" over "this insane violence."

Andrew Cocking, who lives 500 meters from the library, told AFP that the attack took place in a generally quiet area.

He added, "I saw people receiving first aid from paramedics next to a car and also next to a restaurant, before they were taken on stretchers."

He described the matter as "very sad, especially since one of them was apparently a child," noting that his brother "was in the library only 30 minutes before the attack and my father intended to go to it to borrow a book. It is sad that these people find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time."