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<\/a><\/p>\nA Shomrim Toronto Jewish Safety Patrol vehicle is parked under police tape outside the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) synagogue following gunshots fired at the building in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, on April 9, 2026. (Creative Touch Imaging Ltd.\/NurPhoto)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Two locations of Kiva\u2019s Bagel Bar, a fixture for Toronto Jews since it opened in 1979, were targeted late Saturday and early Sunday. Gunfire hit the windows of one storefront just an hour after another storefront was vandalized and its front glass shattered, according to the Toronto Police Service.<\/p>\n
Police said their Hate Crime Unit was investigating, and they believed the same SUV may have been involved at both scenes. The bakeries were closed at the time and no injuries were reported.<\/p>\n
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was \u201cappalled\u201d by the attacks. \u201cJewish Canadians should be able to live, work, and worship free from fear, intimidation, and hate,\u201d he said on X on Monday. \u201cCanada\u2019s government is absolute in our commitment to combatting the scourge of antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow added on X that the incidents were \u201cvile and unacceptable\u201d and said she \u201cwill always stand with Toronto\u2019s Jewish community against antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents flocked to Kiva\u2019s and sold out their bagels by 10:30 a.m. on Monday, according to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy arm of the Jewish Federations of Canada. Resident Adrian Rocca, the founder of a local real estate company, posted a photo on LinkedIn of his employees lined up outside.<\/p>\n
CIJA said the Canadians rallying around Kiva\u2019s sent a message that \u201cthere are a lot of good people ready to take a stand against hate, intimidation, and violence.\u201d The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reached out to Kiva\u2019s for comment.<\/p>\n
As police searched for suspects in the bagel shop attacks, a gunman opened fire on the U.S. Consulate in Toronto early Monday morning, setting off a high-speed chase and a manhunt. Police have not confirmed any connection between the gunfire at the consulate and at Kiva\u2019s. <\/p>\n
The shooting at the consulate marked the second in four months. Toronto police have arrested three people connected with the previous consulate attack, as well as several others accused of shooting at Jewish targets in the city in recent months. At a press conference last month, Police Chief Myron Demkiw identified a \u201cbroader pattern\u201d between the shots fired at the consulate and at Toronto-area synagogues and Jewish schools over the past year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are dealing with in this case and in other unrelated incidences, including shootings at synagogues and Jewish schools, is a recurring and similar modus operandi \u2014 and that is criminals for hire,\u201d said Demkiw. \u201cThrough encrypted messaging apps, young people are hired to carry out attacks against various targets, and in order to get paid, they\u2019re required to film their attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carney pledged in June to fight antisemitism through a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality, and Inclusion. In his speech at Toronto\u2019s Holy Blossom Synagogue, he said that the country was \u201cfailing Jewish Canadians.\u201d Two-thirds of Canada\u2019s religion-motivated hate crimes last year were directed at Jewish Canadians, who make up only 1% of the population, Carney said.<\/p>\n