Second shooting at US consulate in Toronto this year: police chase white Honda at 140 km/h, no injuries

The shooting

At 4:46 a.m. local time on Monday, a police officer stationed in a cruiser outside the US consulate on University Avenue in downtown Toronto heard a gunshot. Officers later recovered a single shell casing and found damage to the building's facade. No injuries were reported. At least two people were inside the consulate at the time, but Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said the building is "very heavily fortified" and those inside likely did not hear the shot. A white Honda Accord without license plates was seen speeding away from the scene.

Police pursuit and investigation

Toronto police chased the vehicle onto the Don Valley Parkway, a major expressway, reaching speeds of 140 km/h (nearly 90 mph) before calling off the pursuit for public safety. No police helicopter was available to assist. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's national security unit and the Toronto police terrorism unit are investigating, with assistance from international law enforcement partners. Chief Myron Demkiw said the force is probing "a series of firearm events over the weekend, including shots at the US consulate." Officers across the city have been asked to be on the lookout for the suspects. Mayor Olivia Chow called the attack "brazen" and vowed to apprehend those responsible.

I want to say to those, to the person or persons responsible, we will get you. We have apprehended the previous shooters, all three of them, and we will bring you to justice.

Deputy Chief Barredo added, "We will bring the people responsible to justice." The US Consulate in Toronto thanked police on social media.

A pattern of gun-for-hire attacks

Monday's shooting is the second at the consulate this year. On March 10, two men jumped out of a Honda SUV and fired a volley of shots, causing minor damage. Police at the time called it a "national security incident." Three people were later arrested; in mid-June, an 18-year-old from Toronto was charged. During raids related to that investigation, 43-year-old Constable Marc Pinizzotto was fatally shot while executing a search warrant. Police have said young people are being recruited via encrypted messaging apps to carry out shootings at synagogues, Jewish schools, and the US consulate, and are required to film the attacks to receive payment. Over the weekend, two locations of a Jewish-owned bakery were targeted: one was shot at, and a window was smashed at the other. Police said on Monday there was currently nothing to link the bakery incidents to the consulate shooting, but they did not rule out a connection.

International dimension

In May, US authorities arrested 32-year-old Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, accusing him of planning more than a dozen attacks in North America and Europe targeting Jewish institutions and US interests, including the March shooting at the Toronto consulate. Toronto police have not said whether al-Saadi is linked to their investigation, and no motive has been specified for the latest shooting. RCMP Superintendent Jonathan Ko described the incident as "another troubling incident."