U.S. Consulate shooting in Toronto being investigated as ‘national security incident’

Police say they will investigate any possible terrorism links as they search for two suspects who fired shots at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto early Tuesday morning.

Speaking to reporters outside the University Avenue building on Tuesday, Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said officers were first notified of the shooting at around 5:30 a.m., about an hour after the gunshots rang out.

He said witness evidence shows that a white Honda CRV was spotted heading west on Dundas Street before turning onto University Avenue and stopping in front of the U.S. Consulate, located at 360 University Avenue.

“There, two individuals emerged from the vehicle, discharged what appears to be a handgun at the front of the building, and then got back into their vehicle and drove southbound,” Barredo said.

Police have now released an image of the suspect vehicle in the hopes that someone will be able to identify it.

Barredo said police were first notified of the incident after an officer was flagged down in the area. Responding units found evidence of gunfire and damage to the building.

“It is very early in the investigation. It is very active and we are aggressively assigning... resources to determine what happened and to bring the offenders to justice,” he said.

Several police cruisers and forensic officers were spotted collecting evidence at the scene on Tuesday morning and the southbound lanes of University Avenue are currently closed between Dundas and Queen streets for the investigation.

Police are urging anyone with video footage of the area, including dash camera or security video, to contact investigators.

“The Toronto Police Service take incidents like this with extreme seriousness. We appreciate and understand the concern, how unsettling this is, how disturbing it is, and how angry it may make some citizens,” Barredo said.

“I can assure Torontonians and Canadians that the Toronto Police Service considers this the most serious, the utmost serious type of event, and we are actively pursuing its resolution.”

Police confirmed that there were people inside the building at the time of the shooting but said no injuries were reported.

The building is so “heavily fortified,” Barredo said, that he does not believe the walls, bulletproof windows, or doors were penetrated by gunfire. He added that employees inside may not have even noticed that the shots were fired.

The integrated gun and gang task force is now leading the investigation with the assistance of the RCMP and other GTA police services, he noted.

A national security incident

Chief Superintendent Chris Leather, Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations for RCMP Ontario, said that the shooting is being treated as a “national security incident.”

“Whether it is a terrorist event or not that will be subject to the investigation that will be undertaken in the coming days or weeks,” he said.

He said there has been formal communication with both federal and U.S. counterparts, including officials with the FBI.

“I think it is important that the public realizes that we’ve had a number of meetings and discussions already this morning with our federal counterparts and that does include CSIS, both here in Toronto region and at national headquarters, and they are tracking this incident very closely as well,” Leather added.

“There will be no tolerance for any form of intimidation, harassment or harmful targeting of any communities or individuals in Canada… We want to ensure that everybody’s safety and security is at the forefront of everything that we do.”

In a statement, a spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy deferred comments about the investigation to Toronto police.

“We thank the Toronto Police Service for their quick action to protect our facility, staff, and visitors,” it read.

Leather said that members of the public will see security “changes” at both the U.S. and Israeli consulates in Toronto, as well as Ottawa, as a result of the shooting.

“I think it is fairly obvious based on the incidents that have occurred here in Toronto and elsewhere that these consulates deserve a heightened amount of vigilance and security at this time in the hopes that we can bring the temperature down in the coming days and weeks,” Leather said.

The incident comes on the heels of three other shootings targeting GTA synagogues over the weekend and last week.

Police have not linked any of the shootings at this point.

“We definitely will be looking at any possible connections. Obviously, it is far too early in this investigation but we do not look at them in isolation. We look at them collectively. And if and how there is something that is found to support that, then that will obviously colour and direct how the investigation unfolds,” Barredo said.

“But it is not lost on us that the city has unfortunately experienced similar types of events, extremely serious and very concerning shootings at synagogues, and this very much factors in to how we will approach this matter as well.”

‘This cannot stand’

Prime Minister Mark Carney referred to the shooting as a “reprehensible act of violence and attempt at intimidation” in comments posted to social media earlier on Tuesday.

“The RCMP and federal agencies will devote all needed resources to support the Toronto Police Service in their investigation, and to ensure that the perpetrators of these violent acts are identified and brought to the full weight of justice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said there is currently a heavy police presence at both the U.S. and Israeli consulates.

“This morning the U.S. consulate was shot at. This comes after shootings at synagogues over the past two weekends. This cannot stand,” she told reporters at a news conference ahead of a meeting for city council’s executive committee.

“Toronto’s Jewish community has the right to practice their faith and culture and to live their day to day lives without fear, intimation or violence.”

She said police have her “full support” in finding the people responsible and “bringing them to justice.”

“As we have seen too many times, anti-Semitic incidents spike when international tensions rise,” Chow continued. “It is never acceptable to target the Jewish community,”

Premier Doug Ford also condemned the shooting on Tuesday morning, calling it an “absolutely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation aimed at our American friends and neighbours.”

“I’m glad to see that the Toronto Police are investigating and I expect that police at all levels will bring every resource to bear to find the people who did this,” Ford wrote in a post on social media.

“Everyone at all levels of government and across Canada needs to make clear that there is zero tolerance for this sort of intimidating and dangerous behaviour, and that we will do whatever it takes to prosecute and punish the people responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”

Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park on Tuesday morning, Ford said the province will do what it can to assist in the investigation.

“I want to reassure the consul general and our U.S. allies that we are going to throw everything at this,” he said.

“I have all the confidence in the world that they are going to catch these criminals, that we are going to hold them accountable, and that they are going to face the full extent of the law.”

It is unclear how many people may have been inside the building at the time of the shooting.

CTV safety analyst and former OPP commissioner Chris Lewis said while the U.S. Consulate would have some security working overnight, the building does not have nearly the same level of protection as the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

“It’s certainly a protected building but not highly. You don’t see armed people standing outside,” he told CP24’s Courtney Heels on Tuesday morning.

“It is not like the embassy in Ottawa, which really has Mounties positioned outside it all the time. You don’t see that at the consulate.”

He added that there are likely many cameras looking out to the street and some staff that would be monitoring those cameras 24 hours a day.

“During the day when people actually can come and go, there would be a higher level of security, but not at 5:30 in the morning,” Lewis noted.

‘They are making an obvious statement’

As for the investigation, he said officers will carry out the standard investigative work, including processing evidence, searching for video surveillance footage, and canvassing for witnesses.

“For the investigators, it is just another day,” he said. “All of that is standard fare, whether this investigation involved the consulate or not. It certainly raises international attention, undoubtedly related to what is going on in the Middle East right now and there is some anti- U.S. sentiments of some sort.”

Lewis added that the perpetrator likely knew they were not putting any lives in danger by deciding to shoot at the building so early in the morning.

“They knew they weren’t going to jeopardize lives,” he said.

“But they are making an obvious statement here and investigators will be trying to find out who made that statement.”

With files from Chris Fox, Managing Digital Producer, CP24 and CTV News Toronto