Toronto police say they are investigating after shots were fired at a North York synagogue Monday night.
Around 10:50 p.m., officers received reports of gunshots being fired at a synagogue near Bayview Avenue and Highway 401, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Miceli said in an email. Officers found evidence of gunfire and damage to the synagogue, which has been identified as Temple Emanu-El.
No one was injured, police said in a social media post. Police said they didn’t yet have suspect descriptions available.
Deputy Chief Robert Johnson is set to provide an update on the investigation at 2:30 p.m. and CBC Toronto will update this story as we learn more.
Rabbi Debra Landsberg told reporters outside the building Tuesday that she was still inside the synagogue, following holiday celebrations marking Purim with her congregation, when she heard gunshots.
“I’m a bit shaken up,” she said, adding she hadn’t slept much overnight. “It is devastating that there are those in this society that want to shatter what we have here.”
Rabbi Debra Landsberg told reporters Tuesday that she didn’t sleep much and was still shaken up after being inside the synagogue when gunshots were fired at the building. (CBC)
Several congregants showed up to the synagogue Tuesday morning to mark Purim, only to find the building taped off by police, who have increased patrols in the area following the shooting, according to Miceli.
Last weekend, three GTA police services, including Toronto’s announced they’d step up patrols in the wake of the U.S. and Israel’s deadly strikes on Iran, which has triggered violence across the Middle East as Iran and its allies respond.
The investigation into Monday’s incident is being led by Toronto police’s gun and gang task force, which is liaising with the hate crimes unit, Miceli said. Anyone with more information is asked to contact police.
Incident comes during Jewish holiday
Ethan Krebs, who attends Temple Emanu-El and lives nearby, told CBC News his family was at the synagogue about two hours before the shooting was reported. They were attending Purim celebrations, he said, where kids and parents dressed up for games and songs.
“To see this happening on Purim, which is one of the happier holidays for Judaism, and just seeing it [be] completely the opposite, it’s upsetting,” Krebs said.
“It doesn’t matter what you believe in, [whether you] go to church or go to a mosque or you go to synagogue, it’s just so horrible to wake up to [someone] attacking anybody’s religion.”
Ethan Krebs says some of his extended family was at the synagogue to celebrate Purim shortly before the shooting was reported. (CBC)
Local representatives from all levels of government joined Rabbi Landsberg outside the synagogue Tuesday in solidarity, including Coun. Rachel Chernos Lin, MPP Stephanie Bowman and MP Maggie Chi.
Chernos Lin told reporters she wants to see all three levels of government create a task force involving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and Toronto police to respond to hate crimes targeting the city’s Jewish community.
“It is not simply Jews who are scared and who are concerned about the Jewish community. It is spreading beyond that, and that is reassuring but also speaks to the level of concern,” she said.
Coun. Rachel Chernos Lin, centre, and MPP Stephanie Bowman, right, spoke to reporters outside the synagogue Tuesday morning along with local MP Maggie Chi. They spoke on behalf of all three levels of government, condemning the shooting as an act of hate. (CBC)
The United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto said in a post on X Monday that its Jewish Security Network was advising Toronto’s Jewish community to “exercise heightened vigilance and awareness at this time,” adding the group is supporting Temple Emanu-El with security following the shooting.
In another post on X, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned the shooting as “an unacceptable act of antisemitism and intimidation.”
“As we have seen repeatedly, incidents increase across our city as international events unfold,” she said. “I want to be clear: it is never acceptable to target faith communities or cultural groups.”
In his own statement on social media, Premier Doug Ford called out the “targeted act of antisemitism,” saying: “We stand firmly with our Jewish neighbours and will always defend their right to gather, worship and live openly and safely in Ontario.”
Gary Anandasangaree, the federal public safety minister, said he was concerned to hear about the shooting.
“Violence has no place in our communities — we must stand together against Antisemitism and hate,” he said in a post on X.
York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said in a post on X that, in light of the shooting, the public should expect to see an increased police presence near faith-based institutions, community centres, schools and at other gathering places in York Region.
Additionally, Peel Regional Police will also increase its presence at places of worship, though the service said in a post on X that there are no known related threats in the region.
Anyone who experiences or witnesses a hate-motivated incident should contact police, the statement says.
There were also reports that Kehillat Shaarei Torah, another temple in the area, had been damaged by gunfire Monday night. But Miceli said it appeared the damage was related to a previous incident from November, as there was no gunfire at the location Monday evening or Tuesday morning.
That synagogue has been targeted by vandals at least 10 times in less than two years.
Rabbi Landsberg said they had supported the “sister synagogue” through the attacks. She said while Temple Emanu-El has received threatening phone calls recently, Monday night was the first time it had been targeted by gunfire or vandalism.