Toronto gun-for-hire attacks linked to Iranian funding target synagogues and U.S. consulate
Investigation says a dozen Toronto gun-for-hire shootings, aimed at Jewish sites, a U.S. consulate and other businesses, appear to have been financed by Iran.
Investigation uncovered roughly a dozen coordinated gun-for-hire assaults in Toronto and surrounding suburbs, targeting synagogues, a school, Green For Life facilities and the U.S. Consulate shortly after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran. The attacks were executed in early-morning raids, with perpetrators arriving in stolen vehicles, firing handguns into entrances and recording the incidents on smartphones.
Police, the RCMP and CSIS say the shootings fit a “Violence as a Service” model that uses encrypted messaging apps to hire young offenders, many aged 15 to early 20s. Ballistic analysis links the same weapons to both political and commercial targets, suggesting a single network of hired guns. Officials suspect Iranian state actors may be financing the operation, echoing recent Iranian-linked plots in Europe and Australia, though they have not confirmed a direct financial conduit. The pattern raises concerns about the growing use of internet-facilitated, foreign-backed violence-as-a-service.
Why it matters
It shows how state-backed actors can exploit cheap, internet-recruited gun-for-hire networks to strike overseas targets.
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