VICTORIA -- One man has been arrested after Victoria police say he broke two glass doors on a downtown residential building and threatened people inside with a hammer.

Officers were called to the 700-block of Herald Street just before 7 a.m. Thursday.

Police say a woman reported a man acting in a "paranoid manner" on the street, indicating that people were trying to harm him.

"The man’s behaviour escalated and the woman moved to a safe location within the lobby of a nearby multi-unit residential building," police said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The man then smashed through the glass doors, which building management says were locked, and entered the building.

Investigators say the man then chased after three women who ran from the lobby.

Police arrested the man at the scene. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries from the glass and was transported to hospital for treatment and a mental health assessment, police said.

The man remains in hospital. No one else was hurt during the incident, according to police.

Victoria police are considering charges of mischief over $5,000 and assault with a weapon.