Four people were stabbed on a busy downtown Boston street yesterday afternoon that was bustling with countless tourists, workers and residents.

The four people were stabbed about 1:40 p.m. near the intersection of Beacon and Tremont streets not far from City Hall Plaza where the annual Scooper Bowl event was taking place.

Police said when officers arrived on scene that they found three victims. A friend tried to drive the fourth victim to a hospital, but dropped him off on Massachusetts Avenue near Boylston Street.

Three of the victims were in stable condition and the fourth was in critical condition, police said yesterday.

Authorities said the stabbings involved people associated with a homicide case that was going on at the nearby Suffolk Superior Court.

“We believe the several individuals involved knew each other,” said police Superintendent Bruce Holloway.

Police were still searching for a suspect or suspects as of press time.

Nearly a dozen police officers and detectives were at the scene hours after the stabbings. Blood was still visible on parts of the sidewalk and cement wall.

The stabbings occurred in the middle of the afternoon on a highly traveled street between Government Center and close to the Omni Parker House.

Police blocked traffic and blocked one side of Tremont Street, forcing pedestrians to walk on the other side.

Tourists in trolleys and duck boats watched police investigate the scene while stuck in traffic.

Andria Lutnick, who was visiting from San Diego, was in the nearby King’s Chapel Burying Ground as police investigated the stabbings.

“It’s sad, very sad,” said Lutnick, who arrived in Boston yesterday with her husband and son. “You come here just to have a good time. That’s just so tragic.”

Broken peace

The stabbings come at a relatively peaceful time in Boston, which has gone more than a week without a homicide.

Before yesterday’s violence, there had only been three stabbings in the city since May 27, according to police crime statistics.

Two of those stabbings were non-fatal.

The third stabbing occurred May 27 when police found a stabbed man inside a burning apartment in South Boston. A woman was also found dead in the apartment from blunt force trauma.