Man, teen charged after shots fired at Toronto Jewish girls school

Two people are facing a host of charges in connection with shots being fired at a Jewish girls elementary school in North York last weekend, Toronto police say.

In a news release issued Friday, Toronto police said officers were called to Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School early Saturday.

Officers arrived to find a shattered window and evidence of gunfire, police said, but there were no reported injuries as nobody was in the school at the time of the incident.

It happened on the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur and is the second similar incident at the school this year.

Police arrested a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old youth Thursday in connection with the incident. They now face several firearm-related charges and were slated to appear in court Friday.

Investigators say the teen was also charged with failing to comply with a release order.

“Both males face multiple charges, including unauthorized possession of a loaded firearm — a Glock handgun modified to be fully automatic,” said Deputy Chief Robert Johnson, in a statement.

“While I can’t share details on the motivation behind this incident due to the ongoing investigation, we are thoroughly exploring why these two individuals committed these crimes and any connections to the previous shooting incident at this school on May 25, 2024.”

When asked at a news conference if the incident is being investigated as a hate crime, Johnson said “while we’re not sure right now what the motivation is, I can assure you that if we find evidence that … this is motivated by hate, we will explore the aggravating nature of this with our partners in the Ministry of the Attorney General while it proceeds through the court process.”