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Police work the scene of a crime at a home on Hyde Park Circle in Toronto, on Thursday, where three people were shot and one person was injured with a hammer.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
An attack that police said began as a random home invasion in Toronto’s exclusive Bridle Path neighbourhood left three family members with gunshot wounds and another with injuries from a hammer.
Toronto police said that shortly after 3 a.m. on Thursday, three masked gunmen stormed into the Hyde Park Circle house through its back entrance while a family of four were inside.
A confrontation erupted in the house as the assailants demanded the family give them money or other valuables.
Police told reporters near the scene Thursday morning the assailants fired their weapons and shot three family members. Each suspect was armed with a handgun, and one also had a hammer.
“There was a demand made for valuables within the home,” Toronto Police Inspector Kristy Smith of the Hold Up Squad told reporters. “The suspects fired their guns, multiple times, and one victim was struck with a hammer. Three members of the family, the father and his two daughters, sustained gunshot wounds.”
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Inspector Kristy Smith of Toronto Police Services’ Hold Up Squad, left, leaves after speaking to media outside the scene of a home invasion and shooting incident at a residence on Hyde Park Circle.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The family members are all adults. Two remain in hospital. Police said they do not know what the attackers took and are hoping to recover bullet casings that may help identify the suspects.
Police said they will not publicly identify the victims, two of whom are now said to have “life-altering” injuries.
Shaken by break-ins, an affluent Toronto neighbourhood takes action
The Bridle Path is one of Canada’s richest neighbourhoods, where large houses are often hidden behind high walls and wrought-iron gates, and flanked by vehicles belonging to private security companies. Security cameras are almost everywhere. Home invasions in the neighbourhood remain rare.
Authorities said they suspect the motive in the current attack was simply greed. “Typically, in an affluent neighbourhood comes nice things – and there’s always people out there that want to acquire nice things,” Insp. Smith said.
“We can’t go around always being paranoid about having nice things,” she said. “But I would suggest that people be ultra aware if they are being followed and potentially, if they feel like they are being followed, calling 911. ”
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The Bridle Path is considered one of Canada’s richest neighbourhoods, yet home invasions remain rare.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Shootings and homicides have dramatically declined in Toronto in 2025 and 2026. But police say one crime category is increasing: The city has had 119 home invasions in 2026, up 35 per cent from the same time last year.
“Across the city we have seen the rise of carjackings decline and the home invasions increase,” Insp. Smith said.
Police have yet to identify any of the suspects in the Bridle Path attack. Insp. Smith said she had no information indicating the family was targeted for any reason other than that they live in one of Canada’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.
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Earlier this year, The Globe and Mail reported that a rash of break-ins and home invasions are affecting another wealthy Toronto neighbourhood – Rosedale, where the rates for these crimes more than doubled between 2015 and 2025.
In that neighbourhood and others, residents have been hiring more security to meet an evolving threat where masked men show up at front entrances in the early morning, bodychecking doors until they give way, or smashing windows in their searches for jewellery and keys to luxury automobiles.
Thieves are also mounting battery-powered trail cameras to remotely monitor homeowners’ comings and goings, police have warned some residents.
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So far in 2026, there have been 119 home invasions in Toronto.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow released a statement condemning the latest attack.
“I am deeply troubled by the violent home invasion early this morning in the Bridle Path neighbourhood,” she said.
“This attack has understandably shaken the neighbourhood and many residents across Toronto. This violence is not acceptable in our city. People must be safe in their own homes.”
With reports from Stephanie Chambers, Patrick White and Tavia Grant