TORONTO — Police are investigating after shots were fired at the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto early Tuesday morning, in what the RCMP now describes as a national security incident.Investigators previously said the shooting happened at around 5:30 a.m. near University Avenue and Queen Street West. At a later briefing, police said investigators now believe the incident took place at about 4:29 a.m., with the later time reflecting when an officer was flagged down.No injuries have been reported and authorities say there is no indication of an immediate threat to public safety.The RCMP said it is working with Toronto police and other agencies to determine the motive behind the shooting. Officials said the force regularly works with police services across the country, as well as Global Affairs Canada, in providing protection for designated persons, including foreign diplomats, and in responding to incidents at or near embassies and consulates.“For the moment, while the early stages of the investigation are taking place, we have increased security around embassies and consulate buildings,” an RCMP official said.Police said there will be no tolerance for intimidation, harassment or harmful targeting of any communities or individuals in Canada. The RCMP added that security has been increased in Toronto and the Ottawa region, with a particular change in posture around the U.S. and Israeli consulates.Officials would not say whether the shooting was connected to heightened tensions in the Middle East, saying it is too early in the investigation to determine what links may or may not exist.“It’s too early for us to determine where the links lay or may not with those that are responsible for the shooting,” an RCMP official said.Authorities also said they will examine whether there is any connection between the consulate shooting and recent shootings at synagogues in Toronto, but stressed that no conclusion has been reached.“We definitely will be looking at any possible connections,” the official said. “It is far too early in this investigation, but we do not look at them in isolation.”Police said both individuals involved were connected to the discharge of a handgun, but declined to provide further details because of the active investigation. Officials said multiple shots were fired and multiple shell casings were recovered.Investigators also suggested the fortified nature of the building may have prevented the bullets from penetrating the structure.“This is a heavily fortified building, very secure. The glass and the walls are reinforced, and so I don’t believe that there was any penetration,” an RCMP official said, adding it was possible people inside the building may not have noticed the gunfire.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow earlier said there was a heavy police presence at both the U.S. and Israeli consulates and linked the incident to broader concerns about rising anti-Semitic violence in the city.“This morning the U.S. consulate was shot at. This comes after shootings at synagogues over the past two weekends. This cannot stand,” Chow said.She said Toronto’s Jewish community has the right to live without fear, intimidation or violence, and said Toronto police were working with the RCMP on the investigation.Ontario Premier Doug Ford also condemned the shooting, calling it “an absolutely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation aimed at our American friends and neighbours.”Ford said police at all levels should bring every available resource to the investigation and said there must be zero tolerance for such acts.At the briefing, police confirmed formal communication is underway with U.S. counterparts, including the FBI, and that officials have met with consulate staff in Toronto. Similar discussions were also said to be taking place in Ottawa between Canadian and American officials.Authorities said the investigation is being treated as a high-priority matter involving integrated national security enforcement teams led by the RCMP and supported by Toronto police, the Ontario Provincial Police and other major services in the Greater Toronto Area.Police said the fact the U.S. Consulate was struck by gunfire makes it a national security incident, but said whether it meets the threshold for a terrorism offence under the Criminal Code will depend on evidence gathered in the coming days and weeks.Southbound University Ave. remains closed between Queen and Dundas streets as investigators process the scene. Police are asking anyone who was in the area around 4:29 a.m., including drivers with dashcam footage or pedestrians with video, to come forward..She said police are working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as part of the investigation.“Toronto’s Jewish community has the right to practice their faith and culture and to live their day to day lives without fear, intimidation or violence,” Chow said.She added that anti-Semitic incidents often rise during periods of international tension.“As we have seen too many times, anti-Semitic incidents spike when international tensions rise. It is never acceptable to target the Jewish community,” Chow said. “Police are investigating and have my full support finding the people responsible and bringing them to justice.”Ontario Premier Doug Ford also condemned the shooting in a post on social media Tuesday morning, calling it “an absolutely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation aimed at our American friends and neighbours.”“I’m glad to see that the Toronto Police are investigating and I expect that police at all levels will bring every resource to bear to find the people who did this,” Ford wrote.“Everyone at all levels of government and across Canada needs to make clear that there is zero tolerance for this sort of intimidating and dangerous behaviour, and that we will do whatever it takes to prosecute and punish the people responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”It remains unclear how many people were inside the building at the time the shots were fired.
