Police in Toronto, Canada, said that shots were fired at a synagogue in the North York district of the city on Tuesday night, during the Purim holiday.

Police received a call about gunshots at the synagogue at around 10:50 p.m. and found damage to the building, CBC News reported.

Purim celebrations took place at the synagogue around two hours before the shooting, the report said.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the attack targeted the city’s Temple Emanu-El Synagogue.

“The overnight shooting at Temple Emanu-El Synagogue in North York is an unacceptable act of antisemitism and intimidation,” Chow said in a statement. “We will not tolerate antisemitic hate in our city. Toronto Police are investigating and will increase their presence in the area to keep the community and congregants safe.”

The chief of the York regional police, Jim MacSween, said police will “continue special deployments” in the area in response to the shootings.

Canada has seen a surge in antisemitism in recent years and synagogues and other Jewish institutions have been targeted repeatedly.

In some of those incidents, a Toronto Jewish girls’ school has been hit with gunfire in overnight shootings at least three times, two Jewish institutions in Montreal were hit by firebombings, three men attempted to kidnap Jewish women, antisemitic graffiti was daubed on three synagogues in Nova Scotia, and a Jewish man in Montreal was beaten in front of his children.

According to a report published by B’nai Brith Canada in April, Canadians experienced 6,219 antisemitic incidents in 2024, or an average of about 17 incidents of harassment, vandalism or violence per day. That was 125% higher than in 2022, and about 7% higher than in 2023, when hatred exploded after October 7.

Last month, anti-Zionist groups in Canada launched a campaign targeting Jewish children’s summer camps.

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