Toronto Jewish school shelled for 3rd time since May

A Jewish elementary school in Toronto has been hit by gunfire for the third time in the past seven months.

The police say they were called Bais Chaya Mushka Primary School on Chesswood Drive, in the area of ​​Dufferin Street and Finch Avenue West, shortly after 2:30 a.m. Friday for reports of a firearm discharge.

Police said several suspects were seen firing a gun from inside a car on the street before driving away from the scene.

According to the policesustained some damage to the school, but they did not provide further details. They added that no injuries have been reported and noted that the school was closed at the time of the incident.

The incident comes just two months after shots were fired at the building in the early morning hours of October 12 – Yom Kippur Day.

The school was also hit by gunfire in May in a similar incident. In that case, police surveillance footage showed a dark-colored vehicle pulling up to the school around 4:50 a.m. before two suspects dressed in dark clothing exited the vehicle and began using their firearms on the school.

The police have stated that they know of no connection between the incidents beyond the scene.

The Integrated Gun and Band Task Force is investigating the latest incident with support from the Hate Crime Unit.

In a statement released Friday morning, Mayor Olivia Chow called the shooting “unacceptable” and expressed concern for the families who are waking up to safety concerns “once again.”

“Enough is enough. Anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic attacks have no place in Toronto,” she said.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on social media that he was “sickened” by the reports Premier Doug Ford saying in a separate online statement that he is “outraged and outraged” to learn of Friday’s events.

Two people previously arrested in the October shooting

At this time, no information on possible suspects has been released.

The police have previously arrested two people in connection with the shooting in October at the school – a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old, who cannot be named under the Youth Crimes Act.

The suspects in the first shooting have not been apprehended.

“It’s very, very hard, it’s very, very hard to be woken up in the middle of the night to news like this and this is the third time. Parents are worried, frustrated, in fear. The students are scared, the staff are worried. scared, and nobody should be afraid to come to school, nobody should be afraid to send their child to school,” the school’s principal Rabbi Yaacov Vidal told reporters outside the school on Friday. morning. “We hope that this is the last time and that this will come to an end.”

“Here we are, a week before Hanukkah, with a message that light will triumph over darkness,” added Rabbi Nochum Sosover, the school’s executive director. “We hope we will see that very soon.”

Classes took place at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School as planned on Friday, but there was a significant police presence. Toronto Police Supt. Paul MacIntyre told reporters at a press conference Friday afternoon that there will continue to be a “large” police presence around the school in the coming days and weeks, with a 24-hour command post. York Regional Police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that in response to Friday’s events, officers will be “actively patrolling” all religious institutions across the region to ensure public safety.

“I can assure you that we will leave no stone unturned in trying to find the perpetrators of yesterday’s shooting and the first shooting,” MacIntyre said.

Toronto police have recorded an increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes since Oct. 7, the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Last October at Toronto Police Services Board meeting, Police confirmed there has been a 42.6 per cent rise in hate crimes since the same time last year. There has been a 74.5 percent increase in hate crimes against the Jewish community and a 40 percent increase in hate crimes against the Muslim community, according to the data.

Speaking to reporters outside the school, Ward 6 James Pasternak called the incident a “real sobering awakening” for the entire community.

“A horrific third shooting at a Jewish girls’ school – what has become of this city? What has become of this country?” asked Pasternak. “This city has always welcomed people from all over the world who are escaping persecution, violence and world conflict zones. They come here to leave the dangerous areas behind, to live their lives in peace and security, and they don’t find that here .”

Police are asking anyone with footage of the incident or additional information to contact them or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman