Toronto police arrest outstanding suspect in U.S. consulate shooting

Police said in a press release Thursday that they had arrested Jabbi and he faces charges including attack on the premises of internationally protected persons, possessing a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm and theft of a motor vehicle.

His arrest comes as police continue to investigate dozens of shootings across the Greater Toronto Area allegedly linked to criminal-for-hire networks, and after an officer was killed last week during a related raid.

Const. Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was fatally shot while officers were carrying out a search related to the investigation. Police said it happened at an apartment building in the city’s northwest on Thursday and Pinizzotto later died in hospital.

The man accused of shooting Pinizzotto, 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett, was shot and injured by police and will be charged with first-degree murder, as well as offences related to two other shootings, police said.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said at a press conference Tuesday that “multi-layered” gun-for-hire networks have allegedly recruited young people to carry out crimes.

Similar networks have also targeted synagogues and Jewish schools in the city, and police are working with the RCMP and the FBI to figure out who is orchestrating the shootings, Demkiw said.

“Through encrypted messaging apps, young people are hired to carry out attacks against various targets,” Demkiw said. He added the people behind the networks “want to create a sense of fear” in communities, including the Jewish community.

“In order to get paid, they’re required to film their attacks. Who’s paying for this? This is what we are trying to determine,” he said.

Demkiw said officers recovered two firearms during their operation last week, including a nine-millimetre handgun and a .45-calibre handgun, both of which originated in the United States. Investigators believe that firearms are being “swapped around” within the networks and used in different shootings.

Police said additional arrests and charges are possible as they continue to analyze forensic and ballistic evidence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2026.

Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Toronto police arrest outstanding suspect in U.S. consulate shooting

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