Students are back at Jewish school that was struck by shooting

TORONTO — Hundreds of students have returned to class at a Jewish girls’ school that was the target of a weekend shooting in Toronto’s north end, the school’s administration said Monday as police continue investigating the incident.

Rabbi Nochum Sosover, the executive director of Bais Chaya Mushka, said people in the community are concerned by the shooting but agree reopening the school was the right thing to do.

“The resilience of the staff and the students are unbelievable,” he said in a phone interview. “They know that we have to go on and not let things stop us.”

“They’re all here, no one’s missing,” he added about school’s 250 students.

Police said Monday the investigation continues to identify those behind the attack.

Toronto Police Service had said Saturday, the day the shooting happened, that the force’s gun and gang task force is leading the investigation with support from members of the hate crime unit.

Police said shots were fired at around 4 a.m. and that no one was harmed in the incident.

Sosover said between eight and twelve shell cases were discovered at the scene, and that he hopes two large windows broken in the shooting are fixed this week.

The school has two security guards on-duty during working hours, but the shooting happened early in the morning when they were off-duty, Sosover said. He also said police have a strong presence outside the school and guards are back to provide security for the students and staff.

Bais Chaya Mushka was also the target of another shooting in May, and police say they are trying to determine if the incidents are connected.

The school’s security cameras have captured footage of the suspects’ car scoping the area before opening fire at the school in both attacks, Sosover said.

He said police should have done a better job to arrest the perpetrators after the first attack.

“Why they chose our school, I’m not sure, but whoever, it’s, I believe that it’s probably the same group of people,” he said. “So that they felt that they’re able to get away last time, so they tried again.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2024.

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press