Suspect linked to U.S. consulate shooting on run in Canada, officer killed

A Toronto police officer was fatally shot Thursday during an operation linked to a shooting at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto in March, police said. One suspect was shot and hospitalized in custody, while another was “armed and dangerous” and the subject of a manhunt. 

The incident occurred Thursday morning at a high-rise building in North York, Toronto, police said. Officers from the Emergency Task Force were executing multiple search warrants in relation to a series of shootings, including the shooting at the U.S. consulate, the Toronto Police Service said in a statement.

No one was injured and no serious damage caused when shots were fired at the U.S. consulate on March 10.

Police said gunfire was exchanged on the building’s fourth floor early Thursday, where both the suspect and an officer were struck. The officer, identified as Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was pronounced dead at a Toronto hospital. He had served with the Toronto police for 18 years and was a member of a special Task Force Unit.

“This loss will have a profound impact on the Toronto Police Family. Our Service, our members, and all members of the larger policing family are deeply saddened,” said Toronto Police Chief Myron Demik.

Nicholas Bennett, 19, who was arrested with gunshot wounds, will be charged with first-degree murder in connection with the officer’s death. 

The other suspect, Zara Jabbi, also 19, was considered armed and dangerous and was the subject of a manhunt, Demik told reporters Thursday.

“If you see him, do not approach,” said the police, who shared a photo of the suspect in their statement. “Call 911 immediately.”

In March, police said two individuals got out of a vehicle early one morning and fired multiple shots at the U.S. consulate building with a handgun before returning to their vehicle and driving away. Canadian authorities said at the time that they would investigate the matter as a national security incident.

U.S. prosecutors, in a May court filing, linked the consulate shooting to Mohammad Baqer Saad Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national accused of running a terrorist network behind multiple plots in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Al-Saadi is accused by U.S. authorities of being a member of Kataib Hezballah, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization based in Iraq that’s among the regional groups long considered proxy forces of Iran. According to the court document, Al-Saadi discussed the consulate shooting in a recorded phone call.

The Toronto police did not elaborate on what other shootings were being investigated in connection with the Thursday incident. Multiple synagogues were targeted by overnight gunfire in the greater Toronto area in March, prompting an increased police presence.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra offered his condolences to the slain officer’s family in a social media post. 

“On behalf of our Mission in Canada, I extend our deepest condolences on the loss of @TorontoPolice Constable Marc Pinizzotto. His courage and sacrifice reflect the very best of those who serve,” Hoekstra said.