Police said dozens of shootings across the GTA are being carried out in “gun-for-hire” schemes where young people are paid by “bad actors” to shoot at various targets, including synagogues, Jewish schools, and the U.S. Consulate. Police also said they discovered two firearms that have been linked to at least 28 shooting incidents across the GTA. They added that the weapons were likely shared by multiple different shooters.
Investigators have identified three men allegedly connected to the two firearms, including 18-year-old Sheldon Tracey-Stewart and 19-year-old Zara Jabbi. Those two men, police said, are believed to be involved in the shooting at the U.S. Consulate back on March 10. Jabbi, police noted, is still at-large.
Toronto police said a third man, Jayon Burgher, 18, has been charged in connection with a shooting incident in Etobicoke that has been traced back to one of the two guns seized by police.
The firearms, a 45-calibre handgun and a nine millimetre handgun, were discovered after members of the Emergency Task Force carried out a series of search warrants last Thursday. During the raids, police said, Const. Marc Pinizzotto was shot and killed inside an apartment unit in North York. That suspect, identified by police as 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett, is facing one count of first-degree murder in connection with the officer’s death. Bennett, police said, will also be charged in connection with two other shootings back in March that police said are tied to the weapons that were seized last week.
Source: https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/2026/06/16/police-say-young-people-being-recruited-to-carry-out-gta-shootings-using-encrypted-messaging-services/