A 14‑year‑old boy from Newmarket, a town north of Toronto, has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of hate‑motivated incidents targeting the Jewish community across York Region and Toronto, York Regional Police (YRP) announced.
Police said they were first notified of the situation last November, after the suspect “made antisemitic comments over the phone to staff members at synagogues, community centers and Jewish schools."
On Wednesday, officers executed a search warrant at a Newmarket residence and arrested the teen, reported CTV News. During the raid, police also located a quantity of a controlled substance believed to be psilocybin (magic mushrooms).
The accused faces one count of possession of a Schedule III substance, along with ten counts each of mischief relating to religious property and indecent communications.
“Hate has no place in York Region, and we continue to stand with the Jewish community. We will always do our part to end hate, bigotry and discrimination in all forms," Police Chief Jim MacSween said in a statement.
Toronto and the area have seen a surge in incidents of antisemitism since October 7, 2023.
Data released by the Toronto Police Service in May found that the city experienced a historic high in reported hate crime incidents in 2024, with the Jewish community, once again, being the leading target.
At the start of December, a Toronto model said she was forced out of an Uber ride-share vehicle after midnight when the driver learned she was Jewish.
A week later, approximately 100 mezuzahs were removed from the doors of Jewish seniors at a North York residence in what police called a “hate-motivated theft."
In late December, another incident of mezuzahs being torn from the doors of Jewish residents was recorded in North York.
In between those two incidents, a Toronto man was charged with willful promotion of hatred nearly a year after allegedly distributing antisemitic flyers in the city’s west end.C