Toronto police officer killed during raid linked to U.S. consulate shooting; suspect at large
A Toronto police constable died after gunfire was exchanged during a raid connected to the March attack on the U.S. consulate, and police are searching for a second suspect described as armed and dangerous.
A Toronto police officer was fatally shot Thursday while officers from the Emergency Task Force executed search warrants at a high-rise building in North York. The operation was part of an investigation into a series of shootings, including the March 10 attack on the U.S. consulate in the city.
Gunfire was exchanged on the building’s fourth floor, striking both a suspect and Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, who died at a Toronto hospital. Police identified the suspect taken into custody, 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett, who was wounded and will face a first-degree murder charge.
A second suspect, 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, was described by Toronto Police Chief Myron Demik as armed and dangerous and remains at large. Police released a photo and urged the public not to approach the individual, advising anyone with information to call 911.
The March consulate shooting involved two gunmen who fired multiple rounds from a handgun before fleeing. U.S. prosecutors later linked the incident to Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Al-Saadi, alleged to have ties to the Kataib Hezballah terrorist organization. The Toronto police have not disclosed further details about other investigations tied to the Thursday raid. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra expressed condolences to the officer’s family.
