Open this photo in gallery:
Police gather by an apartment building on Martha Eaton Way after conducting a raid in Toronto, June 11. Secretary of State for Combatting Crime Ruby Sahota said the gunmen behind the recent incidents, including the U.S. Consulate shooting, were ‘hired by a foreign entity.’Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
A “foreign entity” has hired gunmen to shoot at synagogues in Toronto, the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime Ruby Sahota said in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Ms. Sahota made the remark in an exchange about the government’s lawful-access bill, which would require electronic service providers, such as internet companies, to provide police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service with surveillance and monitoring capabilities.
Ms. Sahota said the shooters behind the recent incidents “were paid-for hires, hired by a foreign entity.” She argued that passing the bill would mean fewer victims of such crimes.
She made her comments just a day after Toronto police announced that a network of shooters-for-hire has been operating in the Greater Toronto Area, and is behind a string of shootings aimed at the exteriors of public buildings and private homes.
Shootings at U.S. consulate, synagogues in Toronto linked to gun-for-hire network, police say
Police said the group’s targets have included local businesses, synagogues and the city’s U.S. Consulate.
American prosecutors and the FBI have previously linked the consulate shooting in March to Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an alleged Iraqi terrorist with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was was arrested in Turkey in May and remains in U.S. custody.
Toronto police have not confirmed any connection between Mr. Al-Saadi and the attacks in the city.
Last week, Toronto police executed an early-morning raid on an apartment complex that targeted some alleged members of the gunmen-for-hire network. Investigators were specifically looking for suspects who they allege were behind the attack on the U.S. Consulate. Toronto Police Constable Marc Pinizzotto was killed during the raid.
Nicholas Bennett, 19, who was also seriously injured in the incident, faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with the officer’s death. Court documents show Mr. Bennett is also facing charges in relation to other shooting incidents. He has not been charged in connection with the consulate shooting.
A Toronto police officer was shot and killed Thursday in an early morning raid on a high-rise building. Sources say the police operation was related to a national-security investigation into the March shooting at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto.
Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said on Wednesday Mr. Bennett is still in hospital and is currently unconscious.
After the raid, Toronto police also charged Sheldon Tracey-Stewart in connection with the consulate shooting. Investigators had also been looking for 19-year-old Zara Jabbi and issued a warrant for his arrest when he could not be located.
Officers allege that Mr. Jabbi and Mr. Tracey-Stewart drove to the consulate in downtown Toronto in a stolen white SUV, exited the vehicle and fired multiple rounds at the building’s exterior before fleeing the scene. No injuries were reported.
Mr. Tracey-Stewart faces 11 charges, including vehicle theft, illegal firearm possession and discharging a firearm.
Police seized two handguns during the raids, which they allege are connected to 27 shootings in the Toronto area.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw said the gunmen are being recruited online and offered payments if they film themselves engaging in the shootings.
The chief said investigators are still trying to determine who is paying for the attacks.
On Tuesday, Toronto police announced that Jayon Burgher, 18, is also facing a slew of firearm-related charges.
He was arrested by Halton Regional Police for allegedly discharging a firearm at an Oakville residence in March.
Toronto police later charged Mr. Burgher while in custody, in connection with an attack on a Toronto business. Officers allege he was working with Mr. Bennett during that shooting.
Chief Demkiw said during the news conference that the handguns are evidence of a wider young-adult gun-for-hire network that shares weapons when contracted.
The Globe and Mail reported last week that police believed the consulate shooting was tied to a larger shooter-for-hire network that investigators had linked to attacks on businesses – including the waste-management company GFL Environmental and tow-truck companies – as well as private residences. This was according to a source, whom The Globe is not naming as they are not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Simon Lafortune, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, said in a statement on Wednesday that the minister “is aware of reports regarding recent incidents in Toronto with possible links to foreign actors.”