Toronto police say multiple shootings linked to guns-for-hire networks

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw says investigators have linked multiple shootings, including one at the U.S. Consulate in March, to “multi-layered” gun-for-hire networks that have also targeted synagogues in the city. 

Police say young adults are being recruited and paid by the networks to carry out the shootings, which have involved some recently seized firearms. 

A veteran Toronto police officer was killed last week during a raid linked to several shooting investigations.

Const. Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was shot on Thursday while officers were carrying out a search at an apartment building in the city’s northwest and died in hospital. 

A suspect who was shot by police, 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett, remains in hospital and will be charged with first-degree murder.

Investigators are searching for another suspect, 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, who is wanted in connection with the U.S. Consulate shooting and believed to be armed and dangerous.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2026.

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