Youth one of two suspects in custody after second guns-for-hire U.S. consulate shooting in Toronto

Toronto Police have made two arrests in connection with shots that were fired at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto last week. One of the suspects is a 15-year-old boy.

Police say it’s another case of guns-for-hire in the city, and the second attack on the consulate this year after a shooting on March 10.

The most recent shooting took place on Monday, July 27 at about 4:46 a.m. outside the building on University Avenue. An officer stationed outside the consulate heard a gunshot and then saw a white Honda Accord fleeing southbound on University.

Police pursued the suspect vehicle onto the Don Valley Parkway but had to give up in the interest of public safety. The vehicle, which had been stolen that day, was later located abandoned in the city’s east end.

Officers at the scene found evidence of gunfire and damage to the stone façade above the building’s front entrance. Security personnel were inside at the time but no injuries were reported.

The first arrest came last Saturday, Aug. 1. Police arrested and charged Xen-Ul-Abdeen Syed, aged 19, with 15 counts, including possession of stolen property, possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm, discharge of that weapon and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

A second suspect who cannot be named because he is 15 years old was arrested Wednesday morning and faces 17 charges, including the ones Syed is facing.

“We also believe that the modus operandi in this investigation is consistent with what we saw in the previous U.S. Consulate shooting, and that is criminals for hire,” said Police Chief Myron Demkiw in a press conference Thursday. “We believe that these two individuals were offered payment to carry out this attack through encrypted messaging apps.”

He was unable to say who offered the payment, however. “That remains a key focus of our investigation … to identify those directing, organizing and financing these attacks. What we know is that criminals are exploiting encrypted technology to recruit young people and coordinate serious criminal acts.”

Asked about the size of the network behind the attack, Chief Supt. Joe Matthews said there were “in the Toronto area … dozens at the lower level that are actually taking the contracts, and I think as you go up the pyramid there are fewer and fewer at each level.” He added: “We look at this scheme as being at three levels.”

Matthews declined to reveal what payments had been offered, but said: “For what these two people are now facing in potential jail time and how it’s going to impact their future — it’s not nearly enough.”

In a statement, Demkiw lauded the work of front-line officers and investigators, but added: “This investigation also highlights broader issues we continue to face … We continue to see too many people accused of serious offences breaching court-ordered conditions. We need meaningful deterrence, we need the tools to investigate those orchestrating these crimes, and we need the justice system to keep pace with the evolving threats to public safety.”

In a separate but related incident, police allege the two suspects visited a gas station in Scarborough several days before the shooting, filling a red jerry can with gasoline before going to a residential street near Queen Street West and Mississauga Road in Caledon, where they poured gasoline on a vehicle in a driveway and lit it on fire.

The suspects then fled the area, and no injuries were reported. Both suspects are also facing charges of arson.

The Toronto Police Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force was in charge of the investigation, supported by the Counter-Terrorism Security Unit. The RCMP and the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team are engaged in a parallel investigation, treating the event as a national security incident.

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