Man charged after 4 youths attacked on Galloping Goose trail in Langford, B.C.

A section of the Galloping Goose Trail near Victoria on Dec. 20, 2018 (CTV News)

A 32-year-old man is facing eight charges, including assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm after, after a group of young people were attacked on a popular pedestrian trail on southern Vancouver Island.

Mounties were called to a reported assault on the Galloping Goose trail near Atkins Avenue and Westwind Drive in Langford, at 10:22 p.m. on Sept. 4, according to an RCMP statement.

Police say four young people were attacked with bear spray by a man wearing a balaclava and carrying what officers described as an "edged weapon."

There was a brief altercation before the man fled the scene on foot, according to police.

Investigators say one of the victims suffered a serious but non-life-threatening knife wound and was taken to hospital for treatment. The other three youths were all treated by paramedics at the scene.

Five minutes after police arrived on scene, officers were called to a nearby home on Kingswood Drive, where a man, who matched the suspect description, was reportedly acting erratically

Officers, along with a police dog, attended the home and arrested the man. "Police subsequently seized a can of bear mace and a knife, which is believed to have been used in the offence," the West Shore RCMP said in a news release Monday.

"Police do not know what the motive was for this attack as the victims and suspect are not known to each other."

Langford resident Kai Alexander Seppala appeared in court Friday, charged with eight offences, including four counts of assault with a weapon and one count each of assault causing bodily harm, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possessing an unauthorized weapon and wearing a disguise with intent to commit an offence.

The suspect remains in police custody pending a court appearance scheduled for Oct. 3.