Police searching for white car after early-morning attack
Toronto police are investigating after a gunshot was fired at the US consulate in the city early Monday morning, the second time this year such an incident has happened.
An officer stationed outside the consulate building heard the sound of a single gunshot around 4:45 a.m. local time and noticed a white car without a licence plate fleeing the scene, police said. Officers briefly engaged in a high-speed car chase before ending it over safety concerns. No injuries were reported.
Police recovered one shell casing at the scene and observed damage to the building’s facade, according to Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo. At least two individuals were inside the consulate at the time, Barredo said, but he noted the building is “very heavily fortified” and those inside likely did not hear the gunshot.
“We will bring the people responsible to justice,” Barredo said.
Supt. Jonathan Ko with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police called it “another troubling incident,” while Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow described the attack as “brazen.”
Toronto police said they are investigating with the help of the RCMP and international law enforcement partners. Police across the city have been asked to look out for potential suspects. It is unclear how many individuals were involved.
In a post on X, the US consulate in Toronto thanked police for their response.
Police have been stationed outside the consulate since March, when shots were fired outside the building in what police at the time called a “national security incident.” No one was injured in that attack.
In June, police carried out raids in relation to the March shooting. One police officer, 43-year-old Const. Marc Pinizzotto, was killed during the operation. Police later arrested several suspects aged 18 and 19 for allegedly carrying out a string of shootings, including the March attack outside the consulate, as part of a larger gun-for-hire network.
Monday’s shooting also comes after two Jewish-owned bakeries in Toronto were targeted, at least one by gunfire, over the weekend. Police said on Monday there was currently nothing to link the two incidents, but they did not rule out a connection.
In May, 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. Police in Toronto have not said if al-Saadi is linked to their investigation, and they have not specified a motive for this latest consulate shooting.