'Enough is enough': Toronto Jewish school struck by gunfire for third time since May

A Jewish elementary school in Toronto has been struck by gunfire for the third time in the last seven months.

Police say that they were called to Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School on Chesswood Drive, in the area of Dufferin Street and Finch Avenue West, shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Friday for reports of a firearm discharge.

Police said multiple suspects were seen firing a gun from inside of a car on the street before they drove away from the scene.

 According to police, the school did sustain some damage, but they did not provide further details. They added that no injuries have been reported, noting the school was closed at the time of the incident.

The incident comes just two months after gunfire rang out at the building in the early morning on Oct. 12 – on the day of Yom Kippur.

The school was also hit with gunfire in May in a similar incident. In that case, police surveillance footage showed a dark-coloured vehicle pulling up to the school at around 4:50 a.m. before two suspects dressed in dark clothing exited the vehicle and started using their firearms at the school.

Police have said that they are not aware of any connection between the incidents, other than the location.

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The Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force is investigating the latest incident with support from the Hate Crime Unit.

In a statement released on Friday morning, Mayor Olivia Chow called the shooting “unacceptable” and expressed concern for the families that are waking up to safety concerns “once again.”

“Enough is enough. Antisemitism and antisemitic attacks have no place in Toronto,” she said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on social media that he was "sickened" by the reports, with Premier Doug Ford saying in a separate online statement that he is "outraged and disugsted" to hear about Friday's events. 

Two people previously arrested in October shooting

At this point no information has been released about possible suspects.

Police previously arrested two people in connection with the October shooting at the school - a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old who cannot be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The suspects in the first shooting have not been apprehended.

"It's very, very difficult, it's very, very hard, to be woken up in the middle of the night to such news, and it is now the third time. Parents are concerned, frustrated, in fear. Students are afraid, staff are afraid, and no one should be afraid to come to school, no one should be afraid sending their child to school," the school's principal Rabbi Yaacov Vidal told reporters outside the school on Friday morning. "We hope that this is the final time, and this will come to an end."

"Here we are, a week before Hanukkah, with a message that light will prevail over darkness,” Rabbi Nochum Sosover, the school's executive director added. "We hope that we'll see that very soon.”

Classes were taking place at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School as scheduled on Friday but there was a significant police presence. Toronto Police Supt. Paul MacIntyre told reporters at a news conference Friday afternoon that there will continue to be a "large" police presence around the school in the coming days and weeks with an around-the-clock command post set up. York Regional Police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that in response to Friday's events officers will be "actively patrolling" all religious institutions throughout the region to ensure public safety.

"I can assure you we will leave no stone unturned to try and find the perpetrators to last night's shooting, and the first shooting," MacIntyre said.

Toronto police have logged a rise in antisemitic hate crimes since Oct. 7, the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

This past October, at a Toronto Police Services Board meeting, police confirmed there has been a 42.6 per cent increase in hate crimes since the same time last year. There has been a 74.5 per cent increase in hate crimes against the Jewish community and a 40 per cent increase in hate crimes against the Muslim community, according to the data.

Speaking with reporters outside the school, Ward 6 Coun. James Pasternak called the incident a “real sobering awakening” for the entire community.

"A horrible third shooting at a girls Jewish school – what has become of this city? What has become of this country?” Pasternak asked. “This city has always welcomed people from all over the world who are escaping persecution, violence, and world conflict zones. They come here to put those dangerous areas behind them, to live their lives in peace and security, and they are not finding it here.”

Police are asking anyone with footage of the incident, or further information, to contact them or Crime Stoppers anonymously. 

With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman