MONTREAL, Canada: A Jewish girls’ school in Toronto was hit by gunfire early Saturday morning, causing no injuries but prompting Canadian authorities to beef up security at other schools and synagogues, police said.
The suspects, who arrived at Bais Chaya Mushka in a dark-coloured vehicle, opened fire just before 5 a.m. and caused “some damage to the front of the school” before leaving the scene, police inspector Paul Krawczyk told a news conference.
Police have increased their presence at the north Toronto school, as well as at other schools and synagogues, Krawczyk said.
“I completely understand that this can cause concern, fear and anxiety in the community,” he said, without speculating on the motive.
However, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the incident a “gross display of anti-Semitism.”
“It’s unbelievable that someone can be so hateful,” he said in a post on X.
“The news of the shootings at a Jewish elementary school in North York is despicable – it’s a brazen act of anti-Semitism,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
The shooting comes amid a war in Gaza sparked by an unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7.
In November, a Jewish school in Montreal was hit by gunfire twice in one week. There were no injuries.
