Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

At least one shot was fired outside the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto early on Monday but there were no injuries, police said, in what was the second such incident in the last four months.

Emmanuel Tetteh
Jul 27
Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

At least one shot was fired outside the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto early on Monday but there were no injuries, police said, in what was the second such incident in the last four months.

Police officers, alerted by ​the sound of a gunshot, said they found evidence of a weapon having been fired outside the ​building on University Avenue.

Police said that a white sedan was seen fleeing the scene ⁠and added that no injuries were reported.

Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

On March 10, several shots, were fired at the same building, following three ​separate incidents in which gunshots were fired at synagogues in the Toronto area. Police increased security outside the U.S. ​and Israeli consulates in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, in response.

Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

In June police said, without providing any more details, that young people in the Toronto area were being paid to shoot at various targets, including synagogues, Jewish schools and the U.S. Consulate. Police arrested ​three people in connection with the March shooting, and one police officer was killed during the operation.

Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

Toronto Deputy Police ​Chief Frank Barredo said an officer assigned to the U.S. Consulate security detail heard a gunshot at about 4:46 a.m., and ‌police ⁠later recovered a shell casing and found damage to the front of the building. Police also briefly pursued a vehicle seen leaving the area but discontinued the chase because of its high speed, he said.

Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

Barredo declined to comment on a possible motive, and on whether the shooting was linked to previous incidents at the U.S. Consulate.

“We’ll point ​out that it is quite ​early in this investigation. ⁠Some information I may not be able to share, and some information I simply may not know at this point.”

The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond ​to a request for comment.

Shot fired outside US Consulate in Toronto for second time this year

Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemned the shooting, as well as ​vandalism at ⁠two Jewish bakeries in the city over the weekend.

“I’m totally disgusted by the shootings and vandalism that took place in Toronto over the last few days, including at two Jewish-owned businesses over the weekend and near the U.S. Consulate this ⁠morning,” ​he wrote on X. “In all cases, active police investigations are underway. ​I expect all those responsible to be found, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

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