Police in parts of the Greater Toronto Area will be increasing their presence after shots were fired at two synagogues in North York and Vaughan.
Toronto police are investigating the shooting at a synagogue near Bathurst St. and Glencairn Ave. shortly after midnight, said spokesperson Shannon Eames.
Officers discovered bullet holes in the front door of a building, but no injuries were reported, said police on social media.
The North York shooting took place at the Shaarei Shomayim synagogue, according to Premier Doug Ford on social media.
York police officers responded shortly before midnight after suspects in a dark sedan “opened fire” at another synagogue near Clark Ave. and Thornhill Blvd., said Deputy Chief Kevin McCloskey at a news conference Saturday.
No one was injured, but there were two people inside at the time, he said.
“This type of hate, this type of behaviour is quite despicable and I’m standing here before you quite upset and quite angry,” he said, adding multiple shots were fired at the building. “Hate and bigotry has no place in York Region, no place in Ontario and no place in Canada.”
Investigators are canvassing for video and evidence to identify the suspects in the shooting, said McCloskey.
While there is no evidence that the two shootings are connected, McCloskey and Toronto police on social media said investigators are working together to determine if there is a connection.
Additional patrols will be out in the community near “faith-based institutions, community centres, schools and public gathering places,” said York police Const. Lisa Moskaluk in an emailed statement.
York police have set up a command post at the Promenade Mall in Thornhill to address public concerns stemming from the shooting, they said in a social media post.
McCloskey said that command post was deployed earlier this week, along with additional patrols, as a response to rising tensions and war in the Middle East.
Both police services are urging anyone with information to reach out to investigators.
Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca confirmed in a social media post that the Thornhill shooting took place at the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue.
He expressed concerns for Jewish residents who may be impacted by the “hateful and antisemitic act.”
“Too much inaction and repeated weak responses from too many leaders have permitted this behavior to become normalized,” he said, adding politicians will likely denounce the incident on social media Saturday, but not take action.
“We are so far past the point where words are enough. They’re not enough for this community, they’re not enough for me,” said Del Duca at a news conference.
It’s “absolutely horrific” to hear of three separate synagogue shootings in the GTA within the span of a week, said Sara Lefton with the United Jewish Appeal Federation.
She said these incidents are a threat to all Canadians, not just the Jewish community.
Both Lefton and Del Duca called on leaders at other levels of government to take concrete action to make it clear that antisemitism will not be tolerated and to provide police the tools to stop other incidents.
“This is no longer about thoughts and prayers,” said Lefton. “We should be standing up against hate and enforcing hate crime legislation.”
Community ‘horrified’ after North York synagogue shooting
Those calls for action were echoed by the Israel’s ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed, who said the safety of Jewish Canadians “must remain a national priority and a collective responsibility.”
He said the shootings follow a “troubling global pattern of antisemitic violence” that “must be met with vigilance.”
“These cowardly assaults on houses of worship are abhorrent acts of violence that strike at the heart of our shared values — safety, dignity, and freedom of religion,” said Moed in a statement.
Ford said the province will work with police to ensure places of worship are protected.
“These cowardly acts of hate are meant to intimidate and [instill] fear,” he said. “Antisemitism has no place in Ontario. We will never waver in our support for Canada’s Jewish community.”
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow called both incidents “disgusting acts of antisemitism, hate and intimidation” on social media.
She said the shootings at Jewish institutions “must stop” and that she’ll support police with the resources to make it happen.
“As we have seen repeatedly, antisemitic incidents increase in our city as international events unfold. I want to be clear: it is never acceptable to target Jewish community,” she said.
In a post to social media, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he was “appalled” at the shootings on social media and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community.
“Government’s core responsibility is the safety of its people. It is time to end this violence once and for all,” he said.
