Shooting at US consulate in Toronto part of pattern of criminal-for-hire violence: Police
"Who's paying for this? This is what we are trying to determine," police said. A shooting at the United States consulate in Toronto earlier this year is believed to be part of a broader pattern of criminal acts in which young people are hired to carry out attacks and film them, police said Tuesday. Toronto Chief Myron Demkiw announced Tuesday arrests in multiple shooting incidents in the city, including one at the U.S. consulate in March, saying investigators believe the separate firearm discharges are connected. "What we are dealing with in this case and in other unrelated incidents, including shootings at synagogues and Jewish schools, is a recurring and similar modus operandi -- and that is criminals for hire," Demkiw said during a press briefing Tuesday. "Through encrypted messaging apps, young people are hired to carry out attacks against various targets, and in order to get paid, they're required to film their attacks." "Who's paying for this? This is what we are trying to determine," he continued.
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A 19-year-old suspect -- Nicholas Bennett -- was arrested on June 11 and has been charged in connection with the business shooting, police said. Demkiw said some of the "bad actors" behind these acts "want to create a sense of fear in our communities." Three teenagers have been arrested, and a fourth is still sought, as part of an investigation into several shooting incidents in Toronto that occurred in March that targeted the U.S. consulate, an apartment unit and a business, police said.
