Toronto/Canada/IBNS-CMEDIA: Toronto Police Service said Friday that an 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with two suspected hate-motivated assaults targeting visibly identifiable members of the Jewish community in Toronto.
Police alleged that the incidents involved imitation firearms resembling “Orbeez-style guns” and occurred in predominantly Jewish neighbourhoods in the city’s north end.
The latest incident took place Thursday night outside Congregation Chasidei Bobov near Bathurst Street and Highway 401, where three people were allegedly shot at from a passing vehicle. One person suffered minor injuries, police said.
Investigators linked the attack to an earlier incident on April 30 near Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West, where three visibly identifiable Jewish residents were also allegedly targeted with an imitation firearm while walking outside.
Following search warrants executed Friday morning at a residence and vehicle in Vaughan, police said officers seized two gel-blaster imitation firearms.
Ruslan Novruzov, 18, has been charged with four counts of assault with a weapon and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Police said the incidents are being investigated as suspected hate-motivated offences by the force’s Counter-Terrorism Security Unit, which includes the Hate Crime Unit.
Acting Deputy Chief Joe Matthews said Jewish residents have been living with “a heightened sense of fear” due to repeated incidents targeting the community.
“While the weapons used were imitation firearms, the impacts are very real,” Matthews said in a statement. “These are criminal acts that we allege were meant to intimidate and cause fear.”
Mark Carney also condemned the incident, describing the shooting outside the synagogue as “an abhorrent act of antisemitism.”
In a post on X, Carney said law enforcement agencies had his “full support” as they investigate the attacks and work to “bring justice for the victims and the wider Jewish community.”
Police have asked anyone with information to contact investigators or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers.
(Reporting by Suman Das)
