Third person charged in GTA synagogue shootings
· Toronto Sun
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A third suspect has been arrested in connection with a pair of March shootings at synagogues in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
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York Regional Police said that on March 6 at about midnight in the Clark Ave. W. and York Hill Blvd. area of Vaughan, officers arrived on scene to find the front door of the Beth Avraham Yoseph synagogue had been damaged by gunfire.
Cops said that two people were inside at the time of the incident, but neither person was injured.
The following night at about midnight, Toronto Police responded to reports of gunfire at a Shaarei Shomayim synagogue in the Bathurst St. and Glencairn Ave. area. When police arrived on the scene, they found the front door damaged by gunfire.
No one was inside at the time of the shooting and no injuries were reported.
Two prior arrests
A 17-year-old teen and an 18-year-old man were both charged in May.
The 17-year-old Waterloo teen, who can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged with two counts of reckless discharge of a firearm, two counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, and two counts of weapons trafficking.
The 18-year-old, who was not identified, was charged with seven offences, including two counts of discharging a firearm into a place, two counts of mischief to property over $5,000, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Charged with eight offences
Police said that the third suspect, who police allege was also involved in two separate shooting incidents in March, was also connected to the synagogue shootings.
Chris Perreira, 23, of Barrie, was charged with eight offences, including four counts of reckless discharge of a firearm, two counts of mischief related to religious property, two counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession of a prohibited firearm and possession for the purpose of trafficking a Schedule I substance.
There are no outstanding suspects related to the synagogue shootings.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the York police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7817. Anonymous tips can also be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.