Five Shots Fired at Toronto Jewish Girls’ School; Police Not Sure of ‘Hate Crime’

Two gunmen fired five shots at an Orthodox Jewish girls’ school in Toronto, Canada, on Saturday, though police are hesitating to call the incident a hate crime.

The Canadian Jewish News reported:

Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, located near the Finch and Dufferin intersection in Toronto, had shots fired in its direction Saturday at 4:52 a.m. No injuries were reported. Police were called around 9 a.m. when it appeared bullet holes were seen in the front door glass of the school.

Evidence of gunfire was recovered at the scene in the hours after the incident, which was captured on at least one security video.

Two suspects can be seen getting out of a dark-coloured vehicle—which neither of them appeared to be driving—and opening rounds of fire on the fenced-in building at 4375 Chesswood Dr., which serves local Hasidic Jewish community members who follow the religious principles of Chabad.

The security video was widely circulated online:

Rebel News’ Ezra Levant criticized police for refusing to identify “antisemitism” as a motive:

The local Jewish federation, an umbrella group of Jewish community leaders, issued a statement Saturday evening (original emphasis):

This morning at around 5 AM, two attackers fired gunshots at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, at Dufferin and Finch. We are grateful that no one was injured during this heinous act of hate, and we extend our steadfast support to the staff, students, and families of Bais Chaya Mushka.

This was a brazen and deliberate attempt to intimidate our community. But in the face of antisemitism, our Jewish community is strong and resilient. We will continue to do what we have always done: live publicly and proudly as Jews.

…

Tonight is the beginning of Lag BaOmer. This holiday reminds us that, even as we exercise enhanced vigilance, our unity and pride as Jews is at the core of our strength. We must never cower or retreat from Jewish life—and we will never let antisemites stop us from living as who we are.

Lag BaOmer, the thirty-third day of the counting of the traditional “omer” measure of grain, is a celebration based in Jewish mystical traditions. It marks the end of a period of mourning and features bonfires, games, and barbecues.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.