A gunshot was fired outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada, on Monday — marking the second such incident that has occurred at the American diplomatic office this year.
Toronto Police detailed that officers stationed outside the American Consulate heard the gunshot on the early morning hours of Monday. The police have no suspects yet at press time.
The U.S. Consulate through a brief statement that there were no injures and Embassy and Consulate services opened normally aside of some rescheduling in routine U.S. citizen services.
Speaking at a news conference, Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo reportedly explained that a white Honda Accord sedan with no license plates was seen fleeing the scene after the gunshot.
Police pursued the escaping vehicle leading to a high-speed, 87 miles per hour chase, but ended the pursuit due to safety protocols. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow reportedly called the shooting a “brazen attack.”
“We will approach this investigation with great seriousness,” Barredo said, per AP. “We will bring the people responsible for this to justice.”
A police vehicle is seen near the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto, Canada, July 27, 2026. The U.S. Consulate was targeted in a shooting early Monday morning, marking the second time this year the building has been attacked, according to local media reports. (Li Haitao/Xinhua via Getty)
Monday’s gunshot incident marks the second of its kind that has occurred near the U.S. Consulate in Toronto this year. On March 10, a gunshot was fired several times outside the U.S. Consulate. The March incident also left no injured, but the consulate has reportedly remained under heightened security since then.
According to investigations, two unidentified men approached the Consulate in a white Honda vehicle before discharging the firearm. The investigations led to the arrests of 18 year-old Sheldon Tracy-Stewart and 19 year-old Zara Jabbi in June. Both teenagers have been charged with a litany of offenses related to the March shooting.
Deputy Chief Barredo reportedly detailed that a possible link between both Consulate shootings and a series of attacks against Jewish-owned establishments and Jewish community centers is being investigated — a hypothesis that Toronto’s Police is pursuing over rising tensions in the Middle East in light of the March U.S. Consulate shooting and a series of similar attacks against Synagogues earlier this year.
Prior to Monday’s shooting near the U.S. Consulate, two Jewish-owned bakeries were attacked at on Saturday night. The Globe and Mail explained over the weekend that one of the targeted Jewish-owned bakeries was hit by gunfire, while a window was broken in the second one. No evidence of gunfire was found in the second bakery.
“I’m totally disgusted by the shootings and vandalism that took place in Toronto over the last few days, including at two Jewish-owned businesses over the weekend and near the U.S. Consulate this morning,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a social media post.
“In all cases, active police investigations are underway. I expect all those responsible to be found, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” he continued.
Read the full article here