Someone Shot at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto Again. Second Time in Four Months.

Someone fired a shot at the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto early Monday morning. It's the second time this has happened in four months.

A Toronto police officer stationed outside the consulate at 360 University Ave. heard the gunshot around 4:45 a.m., according to Deputy Chief Frank Barredo. That officer was there specifically because of a security detail set up after the last shooting. One shot hit the building, damaging the facade. A single shell casing was recovered at the scene, according to Global News.

Two security personnel were inside the building. Nobody was hurt.

The suspect fled in a white, late-model Honda Accord with no license plates. Police spotted the car later in the city's 52 Division and chased it onto the Don Valley Parkway, hitting speeds over 140 km/h before officers called off the pursuit near Don Mills Road, per department protocol. Barredo told reporters aerial support wasn't available at the time. "Had it been, no doubt the outcome might have turned out differently," he said, adding that pursuits get called off on the ground specifically because of the danger high-speed chases pose to the public.

No suspect has been identified. No motive has been confirmed. Barredo said it's too early to know what's behind it.

This Isn't the First Time

On March 10, two men opened fire on the same building. Toronto police called it a national security incident at the time. American authorities later linked that shooting to what they described as an alleged campaign directed by Iranian-backed groups against targets across Europe and North America, according to Global News. An Iraqi national is facing terrorism charges in the U.S. tied to that attack.

Investigators eventually arrested three people connected to the March incident, which police described as a gun-for-hire scheme, hiring young people, some of them teenagers, to shoot at the building for money. An 18-year-old, Sheldon Tracy-Stewart, was charged last month with 11 counts including discharging a firearm and vehicle theft. Court documents obtained by Global News allege he was already under a release order at the time of that arrest.

The March investigation also cost a police officer his life. Const. Marc Pinizzotto of the Emergency Task Force was shot during a raid connected to the probe. A 19-year-old, Nicholas Bennett, was charged with first-degree murder in that killing.

Police have not said whether Monday's shooter is connected to the same network responsible for March. The Toronto Police Service's Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force is leading the new investigation, with help from the RCMP's counter-terrorism unit, according to CP24.

A Pattern Beyond the Consulate

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow called Monday's attack a "brazen attack," noting it happened in plain view of a police cruiser with its lights on. "I want to say to the person or persons responsible, we will get you," she said. "We have apprehended the previous shooters, all three of them, and we will bring you to justice."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford weighed in too, saying he was "totally disgusted" by the consulate shooting and by separate shootings over the weekend targeting two locations of a Jewish-owned bakery. The Guardian noted police are also investigating a shooting at a Toronto synagogue on March 2 with what they've called a similar modus operandi to other recent attacks in the city.

Whether all of these incidents trace back to one coordinated effort, whether they're copycats, or whether some are unrelated gang activity dressed up to look connected remains unclear. Barredo was direct about that uncertainty.

What's confirmed: a U.S. diplomatic facility in a major Canadian city has now been shot at twice in four months, a Toronto police officer died investigating the first attack, and the person who pulled the trigger Monday is still out there. The Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force's investigation is ongoing, and Toronto police are asking anyone with information to come forward.