18-Year-Old Charged in Toronto, Vaughan Synagogue Shootings

Toronto police have charged an 18-year-old man in connection with two shootings at synagogues in Toronto and Vaughan, Ontario, that occurred on the night of March 6 and early morning of March 7.

York Regional Police responded first to reports of gunshots just before midnight on March 6 near Clark Avenue West and York Hill Boulevard in Vaughan, where the front doors of the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue showed damage from gunfire. Two people were inside the building at the time but were not injured. Less than an hour later, just after midnight on March 7, Toronto police arrived at the Shaarei Shomayim synagogue near Bathurst Street and Glencairn Avenue, where officers observed bullet holes in the front doors. The building was empty, and no injuries were reported in either incident.

Following a joint investigation involving Toronto police's Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, Counter-Terrorism Security Unit and Hate Crime Unit, as well as York Regional Police's Firearms Investigations Team and Hate Crime Prevention Unit, authorities identified the suspect. The man, who was 17 at the time of the shootings and has no fixed address, faces nine charges, including two counts...