Temple Emanu-El hit by 20 gunshots; police say two other synagogues struck

Temple Emanu-El in North York reported that 20 shots were fired at its building late Monday night, leaving broken glass and several bullet casings near the front door but no injuries, officials said. Officers responded to calls just before 11 p.m., with shots reported at about 10:49 p.m., Deputy Robert Johnson told a police news conference.

Toronto police said the department’s integrated gun and gang task force is leading the investigation, working closely with the hate crimes unit. Investigators reported that a vehicle was seen leaving the area shortly after the shots were fired; there is no public description of a suspect and no arrests have been announced.

Police also said two Toronto-area synagogues were struck by gunfire late Friday and early Saturday, and described those weekend incidents as separate from the attack on Temple Emanu-El. Authorities have not released the names or locations of the weekend targets. Police spokeswoman Stephanie Miceli confirmed the Monday incident involved a synagogue and said investigators are treating it as a targeted incident.

The shootings have intensified fear in a community that policing and Jewish organizations say has seen a recent spike in antisemitic incidents. Deputy Johnson cited broader figures, saying that since Oct. 7, 2023 there have been 309 arrests and 858 charges related to hate crimes, while urging the public to provide tips to aid the probe. The Jewish Security Network of Greater Toronto advised members to exercise heightened vigilance and said community members should expect increased security measures around houses of worship.

Religious and communal leaders framed the attacks as part of a troubling pattern. Adam Minsky, president of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, said this was the fourth time a Jewish institution has been targeted for gunfire in the past two years and warned that families are living with heightened fear while remaining resolute: “We are resilient and refuse to be intimidated. We will continue to proudly celebrate Jewish life.” Michael Levitt of the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center called the incident “Antisemitic violence” and urged recognition of the escalation: “For months, the warning signs have been there. The threats. The normalization. The excuses. When antisemitism is tolerated or minimized, it escalates. It always does.”

Temple leaders said the building had hosted Purim celebrations earlier in the evening, including a sing-along and costume contest that ended around 9 p.m., and that congregants were leaving when the shots were fired. Rabbi Deborah Lansburg, who was at the synagogue, described the moment her daughter thought they had heard fireworks before realizing they were bullets: “We will repair our glass and we will stay strong as a community. But it is devastating that there are those in in this society that want to shatter what we have here.”

Police cautioned the public not to spread unverified social-media reports. Miceli said some online claims that a second congregation had been shot were confused with damage sustained in November at another synagogue, and explicitly stated, “There was no firearm discharge that occurred at this location this morning or last night,” referring to those erroneous reports.

Investigators are collecting surveillance footage and forensics from the scene and have increased patrols in the neighbourhood. Officials urged anyone with information about any of the incidents to contact Toronto police; the broader inquiry will focus on whether the episodes are connected and whether they meet the threshold for formal hate-motivated charges.