Police investigating suspected hate-motivated incident involving armed man at Jewish school
A 21-year-old Toronto man is facing a slew of charges following a suspected hate-motivated incident at a Jewish school in North York.
The incident, which Toronto police say appears to be an isolated one, happened on Wednesday at Yeshiva Gedolah of Toronto, near Lawrence Avenue West and Bathurst Street.
According to Toronto police, a man was riding his bicycle through school property when he was confronted by students for being on the property.
This individual reportedly returned a little while later and started yelling at the students. Police said he also made anti-Semitic comments.
School staff then confronted the man and a physical confrontation broke out during which a staff member was threatened and assaulted, police allege.
Kyle McLeod, 21, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with a variety of offences, including assault with a weapon. He is set to appear in court on July 28.
Toronto police’s Hate Crime Unit is involved and is investigating this incident as a suspected hate-motivated incident.
Uber has confirmed that the man charged is one of their delivery persons.
“We have zero tolerance for violence or hate on the Uber platform. We are looking into the matter and will take appropriate action,” a spokesperson told CP24.
According to the company’s community guidelines, all users are expected to treat each other with respect. Violence and discrimination of any kind are not tolerated.
Uber says it has a team of former law enforcement professionals who work with the police to respond to urgent needs and walk them through how they can help with investigations.
Jewish human rights group Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre (FSWC) for Holocaust Studies is decrying this latest incident of anti-Semitism.
"It is extremely troubling that a man with a weapon violently threatened people at a yeshiva and, even more disturbingly, yelled that he wanted to kill Jews. … and the perpetrator must face consequences for his disturbing actions," Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, FSWC's Director of Policy, in a May 26 statement.
Speking with CP24, Kirzner-Roberts said this incident is “very disturbing for the community,” especially because it targets children.
“We are really grateful Toronto police took control of this situation fairly quickly, that they did lay charges against the perpetrator,” she said, adding political and community leaders along with police need to develop a strategy together to combat all hate crimes.
“Now we can only hope that he is held accountable for the fear that he has left in our community’s heart.”
This incident comes as Toronto is reports a 22 per cent year-over-year increase in hate crimes, the majority of which are directed at the city’s small Jewish community.
"Such an attack comes on the heels of the Toronto Police Service's most recent annual hate crime report that once again showed the city's Jewish community as the most targeted group. Jewish students deserve to go to school without fearing threats and violence,” Kirzner-Roberts said.
Toronto Mayor John Tory tweeted about the charges laid in the incident, saying "antisemitism has absolutely no place in our city."
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1300, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or www.222tips.com.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.