A University of Calgary student is facing five first-degree murder charges following a stabbing spree that police have described as the "worst mass murder in Calgary’s history."

Matthew Douglas de Grood, 22, of Calgary was charged on Tuesday, after an attack that left five young people dead.

Calgary police have confirmed that de Grood is the son of a veteran officer who has served on the Calgary Police Service for 33 years.

The University of Calgary said de Grood graduated last year, with a bachelor's degree majoring in psychology, with a minor in law and society.

A Facebook profile under the name "Matt de Grood" had a post on Monday evening referencing a song and album by the heavy metal band Megadeth. The post read: "Dread and the fugitive mind – the world needs a hero." The Facebook profile has since been taken down.

Also on that Facebook page, the user said that he had been accepted into the University of Calgary's law school.

Investigators said de Grood left his job at a local grocery store on Monday night and went to the house party with a weapon. He had no previous history with police, Calgary police chief Rick Hanson said during a news conference Tuesday.

Hanson said de Grood was invited to the party, and that each of the stabbing victims were targeted, “one by one.”

De Grood remained in hospital for much of Tuesday where he was being treated for injuries suffered during the police takedown, which involved a K-9 unit.