This time, the suspect in a suspected hate-motivated arson investigation involving a Jewish synagogue and a school got away on a motorcycle.
But not before Toronto Police got their picture.
Police said they responded on Wednesday at 2:44 a.m. to a call for a fire in the Bayview Ave.-Fifeshire Rd. area, adding that a “person lit a sign on fire in front of a synagogue” and “fled the area on a motorcycle, travelling westbound on Fifeshire Rd.”
Then at 3:30 a.m., a “person lit a sign on fire” in front of a Jewish school in the Avenue Rd.-Wilson Ave. area.
Police said the suspect was wearing all-black clothing and a light-coloured motorcycle helmet, while riding a dark-coloured motorcycle.
It’s difficult to tell the gender of the suspect, but “investigators believe the same person is responsible for both incidents” and “officers are currently canvassing for video and asking anyone who may have video or dashcam footage of the suspect or any information about the suspect” to contact them at 416-808-3500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or at www.222tips.com.
It was the third night in a row that Jewish targets has been set ablaze and another series of dangerous attacks since the Oct. 7. slaughter in Israel by Hamas. But unlike the school bus burning and the fire outside a Jewish day school reported on earlier this week, police are more sure these attacks were allegedly hate motivated.
“Another shul was attacked in a disturbing act of arson. The deplorable pattern of rising hate crimes against Jews in Toronto continues,” said B’nai Brith Canada, adding they hope Mayor Olivia Chow “will have concrete solutions to share with the community” to “ensure the safety and security of Jewish residents. Our community cannot, and will not, stand by while our schools and places of worship are targeted. Enough is enough.”
Chow expressed her concern on Wednesday afternoon on the social-media site X.
“The reports of the fires yesterday at Leo Baeck Day School and a school bus in North York and now fires set at Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto and Kehillat Shaarei Torah Synagogue are deeply disturbing,” said the mayor.
The acknowledgement of the two previous incidents were symbolic because many in the Jewish community felt they were being blown off as being nothing more than accidental fires allegedly started by homeless people.
Sources told the Toronto Sun that Toronto Police have always taken the previous fires seriously and have not ruled anything out, other than to say that on the surface the incidents did not appear to be hate related.
But they are looking into it to be sure.
Toronto Police are reviewing video from the Leo Baeck Day School and from neighbours, one of whom provided video from Monday that shows a person carrying bags while approaching the school at least 24 hours before the Tuesday fire was reported.
It has not been determined if this person was homeless, responsible for the fire or merely in the area when the fire broke out. A thorough investigation to determine who this person was, how long he or she was in the area or if there is any connection to the other incidents is underway.
“Police are investigating and they have informed my office that the hate crime unit has been mobilized for the incidents where hate is suspected,” said Chow. “Police have increased their presence in these areas. While Toronto Police investigates, we must stand together to support the Jewish community against anti-Semitism and intimidation. No one should feel targeted because of their faith. Our city must be a place where everyone belongs and where we reject anti-Semitism and hate.”
Her statement came on a day when news broke that Toronto Police assisted the RCMP last weekend in Richmond Hill in arresting two people, alleged devotees of the Islamic State group who are accused of plotting a terrorist attack.
Families are becoming fed up with the endless amount of violence on Jewish targets. No one can be complacent about anti-Semitism. The bottom line is these incidents are serious and the city’s leaders and police are indicating they are taking them seriously.
When there is such terror every night, it’s better to run down every lead and that is what police say they are doing.