The U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto was struck by gunfire early Monday for the second time this year, triggering a high-speed police pursuit of a car without licence plates.
A Toronto police officer patrolling near the consulate on University Avenue heard gunfire at about 4:45 a.m. The officer then saw a white Honda Accord speeding away from the building, Deputy Police Chief Frank Barredo said.
Police pursued the car onto the Don Valley Parkway near Don Mills Road, but called off the chase after the vehicle exceeded 140 kilometers per hour, or about 87 miles per hour. Authorities said continuing the pursuit would have endangered the public, according to CBC.
Toronto police did not have aerial support available. The department currently relies on helicopters operated by the Ontario Provincial Police and Durham Regional Police Service but expects to acquire its own aircraft later this year.
Investigators recovered a shell casing near the consulate and found damage to the building’s exterior. No injuries were reported. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson thanked Toronto police for responding quickly.
“We will approach this situation with great seriousness,” Barredo said, describing the shooting as “brazen” and “despicable.”
Police have not identified a motive or said how many people were inside the Honda. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is assisting Toronto police and American authorities with the investigation. (Reuters)
“Threats and violence towards any persons in Canada are taken very seriously,” RCMP Supt. Jonathan Ko said.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the attack was particularly alarming because a marked police vehicle was stationed outside the consulate following an earlier shooting.
“This is when there is a police cruiser with the lights flashing right in front of it,” Chow said. “I want to say to the person or persons responsible: We will get you.”
The shooting was the second attack on the consulate since March 10, when two people allegedly emerged from a stolen white Honda CR-V and fired several shots at the building before fleeing. No one was injured, but the RCMP classified the attack as a “national security incident.”
Canadian authorities later made arrests as part of a wider investigation into shootings targeting the consulate, synagogues and other Jewish institutions. Police have alleged that young people were being paid to carry out some of the attacks.
A Toronto police officer, Constable Marc Pinizotto, was killed in June while officers executed search warrants connected to the investigation into the March consulate shooting and other attacks.
Police are also investigating weekend shootings that damaged two Jewish-owned bakeries in Toronto. Authorities have not established whether those incidents are connected to Monday’s attack on the consulate.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemned the recent violence.
“I’m totally disgusted by the shootings and vandalism that took place in Toronto over the last few days,” Ford said. “I expect all those responsible to be found, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
More than a dozen police vehicles responded to the consulate Monday, and part of University Avenue was closed while investigators processed the scene. The road reopened later that evening.
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