Two women were hit in the head during a violent overnight robbery just north of Kensington Market — a shocking incident that has left Toronto police hunting for three male suspects.

Const. Jennifer Sidhu said police were called to an address on Major Street, north of College Street, at 2:50 a.m., to report the robbery.

Three men surrounded the women and "grabbed their purses and took their personal property" before fleeing the scene, Sidhu said. One of the suspects appeared to be carrying a gun.

During the robbery, Sidhu said one woman was hit in the head with a rock, while another was dragged onto a lawn and "had her head hit on a bunch of rocks a number of times."

Both women were conscious and breathing after the robbery.

'Caked in blood'

Sharron Richards heard a knock at the door of her Major Street home — it was the two women who had been robbed.

One of the women in particular was bleeding profusely, something Richards could see by looking through her window.

"Her hair was caked in blood, the side of her face was covered in blood, her hands were covered in blood, her jacket was covered in blood," Richards said in an interview with CBC News.

"They told me that they had been mugged, just in the neighbourhood."

The less injured woman helped tend to her friend's injuries, while Richards called the police.

Paramedics and police soon attended the scene, she said.

"It's a violent robbery in the middle of the night," said Sidhu, which is why police are urging anyone with information about the incident to contact them.

It is not immediately clear if the robbery is related to a knifepoint ATM robbery that occurred in the Kensington Avenue and St. Andrew Street area earlier this week.