Toronto police on Thursday arrested a 19-year-old suspect, Zara Jabbi, at Pearson International Airport in connection with the March shooting outside the United States consulate. Jabbi appeared in court shortly after his arrest and faces charges of theft, possession of a restricted firearm, and attacking an internationally protected premises, police said.
The arrest is the latest development in an investigation that Canadian officials say has uncovered evidence of foreign involvement in a series of shootings across Toronto. Speaking in the House of Commons, Canada’s Secretary of State for Combating Crime, Ruby Sahota, said those behind the recent attacks were “paid and hired by a foreign entity.” She did not name the entity.
“Who is paying for this? That is what we are trying to determine,” Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw told reporters, echoing a question he had posed earlier.
Demkiw said the gunmen, described as young people, were recruited online through encrypted messaging applications. He said the case fits a “broader pattern” in which hired criminals were allegedly used to carry out attacks across Toronto, including at synagogues and Jewish schools.
“It is clear that some of the people hiring these criminals want to create a sense of fear in our communities, including in the Jewish community,” Demkiw said.
Police recovered US-sourced handguns during a raid last week and believe similar weapons were used in dozens of other shootings in the Toronto area. One Toronto police officer, Constable Marc Pinizzotto, was killed during that operation.
Officials said video surveillance of the consulate shooting showed the suspects allegedly filming themselves to record proof in order to receive payment.
Toronto police are working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI on the investigation, Demkiw said.
Last month, US officials arrested an Iraqi national, 32-year-old Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, for allegedly planning more than a dozen attacks in North America and Europe targeting Jewish institutions and US interests, including the one at the US consulate in Toronto. Al-Saadi is alleged to be a commander in Kataib Hezbollah, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization operating in Iraq with ties to Iran.
US officials have charged al-Saadi with terrorism. His lawyer argued he is facing “political prosecution.” Police in Toronto have not said if al-Saadi is linked to their investigation.