A Toronto police officer was shot and killed Thursday by a suspect in the investigation into an attack at a U.S. Consulate.
Police officer Marc Pinizotto, 43, died at a hospital after being wounded in a shootout early Thursday morning. He was shot inside an apartment unit after the suspect opened fire first, according to Monica Hudon of Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, which investigates incidents involving police officers where there has been a death.
A 19-year-old suspect was in custody at a hospital, where he was in critical condition, as officers searched for a second suspect, identified as 19-year-old Zara Jabbi.
Jabbi is considered armed and dangerous, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said at a news conference. “I urge you to turn yourself in,” Demkiw said.
In March, two people emerged from a white Honda RV SUV at around 4:30 a.m. and fired multiple shots at the consulate building before fleeing. The shooting damaged the outside of the building but did not cause any injuries.
The consulate attack in March followed heightened tensions over the war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in late February, and it had followed gunfire attacks on two Toronto-area synagogues the previous weekend.
The investigation that led to Pinizotto's death "concerned a number of shootings, including the shooting at the United States consulate on University Avenue. There were several search warrants executed this morning,” Demkiw said.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she’s known the mother of the deceased officer, who had been on the force for 18 years, for the 20 years.
“Their grief is shared across this city,” Chow said.
