Youth sentenced to two years for two Toronto-area synagogue shootings, police say
The chief of police in a region north of Toronto says a youth has been sentenced after he pleaded guilty to shooting at two synagogues.
Paulo Da Silva, chief of York regional police, says the youth was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in a custodial facility followed by one year of community supervision for his role in the pair of shootings in March.
Da Silva says the sentence reflects the maximum punishment possible for the crimes under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and includes a two-year firearms prohibition and an order to provide a DNA sample.
The sentencing comes after the youth pleaded guilty to several offences in November, Da Silva says, including discharging a firearm at the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto and Shaarei Shomayim synagogues.
The shootings happened on the same night, leaving behind bullet holes and causing property damage, though no injuries were reported.
The incidents drew widespread condemnation and police said they stepped up patrols around Jewish neighbourhoods and places of worship in response.
When the youth was first arrested and charged in May, police said they would not name the suspect because he was 17 at the time of the shootings.
Da Silva says the "significant sentence" the youth received recognizes the "fear, trauma and harm these acts of violence caused to the Jewish communities in York Region, Toronto and in surrounding areas."
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs welcomed news of the sentencing, writing in a statement that it represented an "important step toward justice for Jewish families across the Greater Toronto Area."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2026.
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