2 Teens Charged After Second Shooting at US Consulate in Toronto

Police work the scene of an early morning shooting outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto on July 27, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sammy Kogan

Two suspected “criminals for hire” under the age of 20 have been arrested and are now facing multiple charges after a shot was fired at the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto last week, city police say.

A 19-year-old man arrested on Aug. 1 and a 15-year-old boy arrested on Aug. 5 are facing a combined 32 charges in connection with the incident at the U.S. embassy and the alleged arson of a vehicle in a residential area of Caledon, north of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), last month, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw told reporters at an Aug. 6 press conference.

Investigators believe they can link both suspects to an encrypted messaging app that offered payment to carry out the shooting at the consulate, the chief said.

“We also believe that the modus operandi in this investigation is consistent with what we saw in the previous U.S. consulate shooting, and that is criminals for hire,” Demkiw said, referring to an incident in March when two suspects were alleged to have been hired to shoot at the embassy.

“There has been significant public interest and speculation about who is behind these crimes,” he added. “That remains a key focus of our investigation.”

Chief Superintendent of Detective Operations Joe Matthews described the crime-for-hire operation as a violent pyramid scheme, with “dozens” of people in Toronto “at the lower level that are actually taking the contracts.”

“And I think as you go up the pyramid, there’s fewer and fewer at each level,” he said. “So that investigation is ongoing.”

Demkiw said the arrests are part of an ongoing trend of teenage boys and young men being offered money to carry out criminal acts.

“We do see repeatedly young people prepared to pick up firearms and engage in incredibly violent activity,” the chief said. “The justice system needs to do their part. Other agencies that support young people who find themselves in conflict with the law need to step up and do their job. And we will keep arresting them, but it’s high time we stop the revolving door of young people and young adults being engaged in this kind of brazen activity.”

Embassy Shooting and Car Fire

An officer stationed at the University Avenue building on July 27 as part of an ongoing security detail heard gunfire in the area at roughly 4:45 a.m. and saw a white Honda Accord with no licence plates speed away from the scene, according to a police press release.

Police chased the suspects’ vehicle but the pursuit was called off for the sake of public safety.

Matthews said a single shell casing was found near the U.S. Consulate and only one bullet struck the building, despite video footage suggesting that two shots could have been fired.

No one was injured during the incident.

Investigators also believe the consulate shooting suspects are responsible for a July 24 vehicle fire in a driveway in Caledon, Matthews said.

Police say two suspects driving a stolen vehicle filled a red jerry can with gasoline at a gas station in Scarborough at approximately 9:45 p.m., before driving to the home and using the gas to light the vehicle on fire.

The two suspects have been charged in connection with both incidents.

Nineteen-year-old Xen-Ul-Abdeen Syed is facing 15 charges including attack on premises of internationally protected persons, arson causing damage to property, and possession of incendiary material, as well as several firearm-related charges.

A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is facing the same charges. Both suspects have also been charged with multiple counts of failing to comply with their court-ordered release conditions.

March Shooting

Eighteen-year-old Sheldon Tracy-Stewart and 19-year-old Zara Jabbi were arrested in June in connection with the early morning gunfire March 10 outside the U.S. Consulate.

Jayon Burgher, also 18, was arrested by Halton Regional Police in March in connection with an unrelated shooting, but investigators’ tests suggest that one of the handguns involved in that shooting is the same as one used in the first consulate shooting.

Toronto Const. Marc Pinizzotto was gunned down while executing a June 10 raid related to the initial shooting at the U.S. Consulate. Nineteen-year-old Nicholas Bennett faces first-degree murder charges related to the officer’s death. Bennett was also shot during the raid and was hospitalized.

U.S. authorities apprehended 32-year-old Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi in May for his alleged role in planning numerous assaults throughout North America aimed at Jewish and American-affiliated institutions, including the shooting at the Toronto consulate on March 10. He is believed to be the leader of the Kataib Hezbollah terrorist group, an organization linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Investigators are asking anyone with information about any of the crimes to contact police.