A Barrie man has been charged with shooting at synagogues in Toronto and Vaughan earlier this year. Just before midnight on March 6, sounds of gunshots were heard near Clark Avenue West and York Hill Boulevard in Vaughan. When York Regional Police officers arrived, they saw the front doors of a synagogue had been damaged by gunfire. Two occupants, who were inside the synagogue at the time of the shooting, were not injured. Just after midnight the next night, Toronto Police Service responded to reports of gunshots at a synagogue near Bathurst Street and Glencairn Avenue. When officers arrived, they discovered damage to the synagogue’s front entrance was consistent with gunfire. No one was inside at the time of the shooting and no injuries were reported. York Regional Police has previously announced that two suspects had been charged in relation to these incidents. Through a joint forces investigation, a third suspect was identified in relation to both incidents. Investigators had previously charged a third person in connection with a shooting that occurred on March 25 at a residence near Clubhouse Road and Pine Valley Drive. That person has now also been charged in connection with another shooting that occurred on March 1, in the area of Steeplechase Avenue and Beacon Hall Drive in the Town of Aurora. A 23-year-old Barrie man was charged with four counts of reckless discharge of firearm and two counts of mischief related to religious property. The man also faces charges of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a loaded prohibited firearm and two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle. The Barrie man has also been charged with possession of property (valued at over $5,000) obtained by crime and possession of a cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs made the following statement about the arrest of a third person in connection with March shootings at synagogues in the cities of Vaughan and Toronto: “The laying of charges against the third and final suspect in connection with the March shootings targeting GTA synagogues marks an important development in this investigation. With no outstanding suspects, we commend Toronto and York Regional Police for their work to identify and apprehend all those alleged to have carried out these attacks,” said the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in a press release.
