Trio in gun-for-hire network arrested in Toronto

Three men involved in a gun-for-hire criminal network that authorities allege is responsible for shootings at the US consulate in Toronto and Jewish synagogues have been arrested, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said at a news conference Tuesday.

Together with the help of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Toronto police successfully recovered a 9 mm handgun believed to be used in six shootings, as well as a 45-caliber handgun allegedly used in 21 shootings.

Both guns came across the border into Canada from the United States, Demkiw said.

Police executed five high-risk search warrants earlier this month in Toronto. An officer was killed after being allegedly shot by a 19-year-old man who is now facing a first-degree murder charge.

The shootings included bullets fired at buildings owned by a Canadian waste firm, private residences and tow truck companies, reported the Globe and Mail newspaper. There has been ongoing violence as tow truck companies jockey for supremacy and lucrative towing jobs.

American prosecutors believe the consulate shooting was the work of an Iraqi terrorist associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was apprehended in Türkiye and remains in US custody, the newspaper reported.

Demkiw declined to comment on the terrorism allegation.

Besides the first-degree murder charge, the shooter involved in the police officer’s death faces six additional charges. An 18-year-old was arrested Friday for the consulate shooting and faces 11 charges, including vehicle theft and illegal possession and discharging of a firearm.

The third man nabbed faces seven charges, including possession of a firearm and/or ammunition.

Authorities are still hunting a fourth man who was allegedly involved in the consulate shooting, Demkiw said.