Toronto police link dozens of shootings to gun-for-hire network, officer killed
Toronto police say a "multilayered" gun-for-hire network is behind dozens of shootings, including an attack on the US consulate. A veteran officer was killed during a related raid.
Dozens of Toronto shootings tied to gun-for-hire network recruiting teens via encrypted apps
Toronto police have linked dozens of shootings — including a March attack on the US consulate — to a "multilayered" gun-for-hire network also responsible for attacks on synagogues across Canada's largest city, theguardian.com reports.
Police Chief Myron Demkiw told reporters on Tuesday that young adults and teenagers are being recruited through encrypted messaging apps including Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp. "Bad actors" pay these recruits to carry out attacks, and shooters are required to film the violence in order to receive payment.
"Who is paying for this?" Demkiw said. "This is what we are trying to determine."
Officer killed during raid
A veteran Toronto officer was shot and killed last week during a raid connected to the investigation. Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was struck early Thursday morning while a team executed a search warrant at an apartment building in the city's north-west. Nicholas Bennett, 19, has been charged with first-degree murder; he remains in hospital.
Police also announced charges against Jayon Burgher and Sheldon Tracey-Stewart, both 18, for their roles in several of the shootings. Authorities are still searching for 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, whom they link to the March consulate attack. No one was injured in that incident.
Two seized handguns connected to 27 shootings
Two handguns recovered during dawn raids last week are believed to be connected to 27 separate shootings across the Greater Toronto Area. Investigators believe the weapons were passed between multiple shooters.
"While we've been able to connect these firearms to numerous instances, we are still working to identify not only the individuals responsible for pulling the triggers but also those who may have directed or organized these acts of violence," said Joe Matthews, chief superintendent of the Toronto Police Service.
Links to synagogue attacks and possible foreign connections
Demkiw described the shootings as part of a "broader" trend observed in Toronto and other regions, noting that investigators are working with the FBI. He drew a direct line between the gun-for-hire model and separate attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools in the city.
"It is clear that some of the people hiring these criminals want to create a sense of fear in our communities, including in the Jewish community," he said.
Investigators have also been examining whether the consulate shooting is connected to a global terror network that has threatened retaliation for US strikes on Iran. In May, US authorities charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iraqi national, with terrorism, alleging he is the architect of nearly 20 attacks in Europe.
US court documents indicate al-Saadi has also claimed responsibility for the Toronto consulate shooting. An FBI criminal complaint states that in a recorded telephone call, al-Saadi suggested that "our people" were behind the attack.
Demkiw stopped short of confirming that connection. "I know there's been a lot of reporting about criminal groups and foreign actors," he said. "But what I can tell you is that we are still working actively to investigate who is responsible for orchestrating these criminal acts."
Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)