Canadian Police Search For 2 Suspects Who Opened Fire On U.S. Consulate In Toronto
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian police searched Tuesday for two gunmen who opened fire at the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto in the early morning hours, damaging the building’s exterior but causing no injuries.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Chris Leather called the incident a national security incident and said the national police force was working with Toronto police to find the suspects and determine the cause of the incident.
The shooting comes amid rising tensions over the Iran war and follows last weekend’s shootings at two synagogues in the Toronto area. Leather said security will increase at the U.S. and Israeli consulates, as well as the embassies in Ottawa.
“This is extremely concerning,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “We will use the full weight of our resources to ensure that the perpetrators feel the full weight of justice.”
Toronto Deputy Police Chief Frank Barredo said two men got out of a white Honda CRV SUV around 4:30 a.m. and fired multiple shots into the building before fleeing. Police released images of the SUV but had no further information about the suspects.
“There were people inside the building. However, this building has a very safe and solid structure and there were no injuries,” he said.
Barredo said the gunshots damaged the outside but did not penetrate the building.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called it “a completely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation against our American friends and neighbors” and pointed to a possible connection to the war in Iran.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said his team is in close contact with Canadian officials.
“The attack on our Consulate General in Toronto this morning is deeply concerning. I am very grateful that no one was injured,” he said in his social media post. “Our work continues, we will not give up”
There was a heavy police presence at both the U.S. and Israeli consulates in Toronto on Tuesday, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said, adding that the city’s Jewish community should have “the right to practice their faith and culture and live their daily lives without fear, intimidation or violence.”
There is a large Iranian community in Toronto, and the war in Iran has led to demonstrations outside the US consulate in both support and protest. Consulates are often the site of protests.
The federal government’s Incident Response Group met over the weekend to review potential changes to the “threat landscape” in Canada and discuss ways to improve homeland security, Carney said in a post on social media.
