Police have arrested and charged a third suspect in connection with the March shootings that targeted two shuls in the Greater Toronto Area, completing the roundup of all known suspects. The announcement comes as Jewish community leaders continue urging investigators to determine whether foreign actors played a role in orchestrating the attacks.
York Regional Police announced that a 23-year-old Barrie resident has been charged in connection with a string of shooting incidents that occurred across Toronto and York Region in March, including attacks on two shuls that took place about an hour apart, CityNews Toronto reported.
The first shooting occurred just before midnight on March 6 after residents near York Hill Boulevard and Clark Avenue West in Vaughan reported hearing gunfire. Officers responding to the scene found bullet holes in the front entrance of the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto shul. Two people were inside the building at the time, but neither was injured.
Shortly after midnight on March 7, Toronto police were called to another shooting at the Shaarei Shomayim shul, located near Glencairn Avenue and Bathurst Street. Investigators found damage to the building’s entrance caused by gunfire. No one was inside the shul when the shots were fired.
The two attacks, carried out within roughly an hour of each other, sent shockwaves through Jewish communities across the Greater Toronto Area and prompted a joint investigation by Toronto Police and York Regional Police.
Earlier this year, York Regional Police charged two individuals in connection with the shootings. Continued cooperation between the two police services ultimately led investigators to identify and charge the 23-year-old suspect as an alleged participant in both shul attacks.
Police noted that the suspect had already been facing charges stemming from two additional shooting incidents in Vaughan and Aurora.
Investigators now say there are no remaining outstanding suspects in the shul shooting investigation. The accused faces numerous charges, including two counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offense, four counts of reckless discharge of a firearm, two counts of mischief relating to religious property, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime valued at more than $5,000, as well as several weapons-related offenses.
Authorities emphasized that the joint investigation remains ongoing and encouraged anyone with additional information to come forward.
Following the announcement, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) welcomed the latest arrest while stressing that major questions remain unanswered.
“The laying of charges against the third and final suspect in connection with the March shootings targeting GTA shuls marks an important development in this investigation. With no outstanding suspects, we commend Toronto and York Regional Police for their work to identify and apprehend all those alleged to have carried out these attacks.”
CIJA argued that investigators must now determine who may have orchestrated the attacks from behind the scenes.
“However, the important question remains: who or which ‘foreign entities’ directed those accused of carrying out the shootings? Last week, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw again raised concerns about local youth and criminals being hired to commit acts of violence on Canadian soil.”
The organization pointed to broader national security concerns involving possible Iranian involvement.
“This announcement comes within the broader context of Canada’s Integrated Threat Assessment Centre warning of a ‘realistic possibility’ that Iran’s Islamic regime is directing local criminal elements to target Canadians. As well, the federal government’s Secretary of State for Combatting Crime has acknowledged that a ‘foreign entity’ is behind attacks against shuls in Toronto.”
CIJA also referenced recent developments in the United States, saying they add to those concerns.
“Recent charges brought by US prosecutors add further urgency to these concerns, with prosecutors alleging that an Iranian-proxy Kataib Hezbollah directed attacks in Canada through local criminal networks, including the shooting at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto,” said CIJA.
The organization concluded by urging investigators to continue pursuing anyone who may have planned or financed the attacks.
“With the alleged perpetrators now in custody, investigators must continue working to identify and hold accountable anyone or any foreign actor who may have recruited, directed, or financed these attacks. And governments at all levels must ensure security services and police have the tools they need to confront the dangerous trend of a growing convergence between international terrorism, Iran’s Islamic regime, youth radicalization, and local criminal elements,” the organization concluded.
The arrests come amid a significant increase in antisemitic incidents across Toronto and the surrounding area since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel.
In early March, gunfire struck Temple Emanu-El in North York while congregants were celebrating Purim. Although no one was hurt, the shul sustained damage.
Later, in April, a man allegedly attempted to force his way into an Orthodox shul in Thornhill, just north of Toronto, assaulting one individual before fleeing.
The following day, someone threw a rock through the window of a Judaica store in Toronto, marking the third attack on that business.
More recently, two separate locations of a Jewish-owned bakery in Toronto were targeted in attacks that occurred within an hour of one another.
{Matzav.com}
