Police announce two arrests in shooting of Jewish elementary school

Toronto police have announced two arrests in connection with a shooting incident that took place at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School on Oct. 12.

The Jewish girls’ school, located on Chesswood Drive near Keele and Finch in the city’s north end, had a broken window after shots were fired from a vehicle on the road outside, police say. No one was inside at the time, and there were no injuries.

“This is the second incident at the school and it occurred on Yom Kippur, a sacred day for the Jewish community, making this even more devastating,” said Deputy Chief of Police Robert Johnson in making the announcement.

On Thursday, police arrested Helder Antonio De Ameida, 20, of Toronto. He was charged on multiple counts, including possession and discharge of a restricted or prohibited firearm. Johnson said the weapon in question was a Glock handgun that had been modified to be fully automatic.

Also arrested on similar charges as well as a charge of failing to comply with a release order was a male youth, aged 17. He cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Both are scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice on Oct. 18.

Asked if this was a hate crime, Johnson said the investigation had not yet determined that. “If we find evidence … that this was motivated by hate, we will explore the aggravating nature of this with our partners in the ministry,” he added.

Johnson could not say if there were additional suspects, or if the two shootings were related, saying only that the investigation was ongoing.

“It’s very concerning, and this is making folks in our city feel unsafe,” he said. “Since October 7 (2023) we’ve arrested 167 people and laid about 411 charges.

“This rise since October 7 is something that we had not anticipated or planned for and it is a problem,” he added. “We are concerned.”

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