‘Visible presence’: Toronto police meet with Jewish community after girls’ school hit with gunfire for 3rd time

A police cruiser parked at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School on Chesswood Drive on Saturday, May 25, 2024.

Toronto police say they’ll be keeping a watchful eye on a Jewish girls’ school that was hit with gunfire for a third time this year.

In a post on X Tuesday, police said they attended a meeting at the elementary school to discuss ongoing concerns about safety.

“Toronto Police officers are maintaining a visible presence at the school currently and a Command Post is in place,” police said. “Increased patrols and officer visibility have been undertaken at places of worship around the city.”

Gunfire rang out outside Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School in the middle of the night, around 2:30 a.m., on Dec. 20.  Police said multiple suspects were seen firing a gun from inside a car on the street before fleeing the area.

The school was struck by bullets, causing some damage, but thankfully nobody was injured.

The incident marked the third time this year the school was hit with gunfire following a similar incident in May and another in October – that one on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

“Our Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, Hate Crime Unit, @TPS32Div and Project Resolute resources are working together across the Service,” Chief Myron Demkiw said in his own post on X Tuesday.

The latest incident drew a chorus of condemnation from political leaders, including Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who said “enough is enough” and Premier Doug Ford, who said he was “outraged and disgusted” by the incident.

Two people are facing charges in connection with the October incident, but police have not found any evidence linking the three occurrences so far, they said last week.

Toronto police have logged a sharp 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.

The latest incident occurred days before the start if the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Rabbi Nochum Sosover, the school’s executive director, spoke outside the school Friday and noted the proximity to the holiday, which celebrates a miracle of light.

“Light will prevail over darkness,” he said.

Police are urging anyone with information to reach out to investigators or to call Crime Stoppers anonymously.

With files from Alex Arsenych