Police identify Toronto man allegedly stabbed to death by teen girls

The identity of a 59-year-old man killed in Toronto after allegedly being "swarmed" by a group of eight teenage girls has been released by Canadian authorities.

Ken Lee was fatally stabbed on a cold night in mid-December.

Police said he was surrounded by girls aged between 13 and 16, who were arrested nearby and charged in the days after the attack.

Lee had recently been living in a homeless shelter.

Toronto police released his identity on Tuesday, weeks after the 18 December attack which took place near midnight local time in the city's downtown core following an altercation. Police have said they believe Lee may have been preyed upon because he was spotted carrying alcohol.

He later died in hospital.

The girls are currently facing second-degree murder charges. As minors, they cannot be identified under Canadian law.

Police said the girls first met online before gathering in person the night of the attack, possibly for the first time. They do not believe it was gang related.

The attack shocked the city, with Toronto Mayor John Tory saying he was "deeply disturbed" by the case.

"I've been in policing for almost 35 years and you think you've seen it all," Detective Sergeant Terry Browne told the Associated Press in a December interview. "If this isn't alarming and shocking to everyone, then we're all in trouble quite frankly."

Speaking to reporters after the assault, Detective Browne called the assault an "anomaly", adding that the girls arrived to the downtown Toronto area from different parts of the city.

Police recovered several weapons at the scene of the crime, but did not say which type.

Three of the girls have had prior run-ins with police, authorities said.