Toronto police officer killed during search linked to U.S. Consulate shooting: chief

TORONTO — A veteran Toronto police officer was killed Thursday during a raid linked to investigations into multiple shootings, including one at the U.S. Consulate in March, Chief Myron Demkiw said.

Const. Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was shot while officers were carrying out a search at an apartment building in the city’s northwest and died in hospital.

“No words can capture the impact on Marc’s family, who expected him to come home today,” an emotional Demkiw said at a press conference outside Sunnybrook hospital alongside Mayor Olivia Chow.

“We, as a service, will support them and each other.”

A suspect who remains in hospital after he was shot by police, 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett, will be charged with first-degree murder, police said. Investigators are still searching for a second suspect, 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, who they said is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Jabbi is wanted in the shooting at the consulate, police said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he has been briefed on the circumstances of Thursday’s shooting, and he offered his condolences to the colleagues and family of Pinizzotto, who was with the police force for 18 years.

“It’s prudent to not share the details of that (briefing) at this stage,” Carney told reporters at an unrelated press conference, adding that Toronto police and the federal minister of public safety will share more “when appropriate.”

Clayton Campbell, president of the Toronto Police Association, said Pinizzotto was taking part in a “high-risk takedown” when he was shot.

Ontario’s police watchdog said the shooting happened inside a fourth-floor apartment in a building on Martha Eaton Way.

Monica Hudon, a spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit, said a man shot an officer once and a second officer returned fire, striking the man multiple times. That suspect is in critical condition, she said.

Four other people were inside the unit at the time, Hudon said.

“Their relationship to the men, in connection to the search warrant, is still too early for me to confirm anything,” she said at a press conference.

She also said it was too early to discuss how the raid unfolded before shots were fired. The agency has assigned six investigators and four forensic investigators to the case.

Demkiw said the initial search was one of several conducted Thursday morning and pertained to multiple shootings, including one at the U.S. Consulate.

No injuries were reported in the consulate shooting, but RCMP said at the time that it was being treated as a “national security incident.”

The building where the latest shooting happened was cordoned off Thursday morning with caution tape as police vehicles lined the block and residents watched the scene from their balconies. As they left for school, young children wearing backpacks walked past officers and yellow police tape.

Later in the day, a Toronto police procession escorted Pinizzotto’s body from Sunnybrook hospital to the coroner’s office. Hundreds of officers stood shoulder-to-shoulder, some wiping their eyes and hanging their heads beneath a large Canadian flag. They solemnly saluted as the motorcade passed through.

Pinizzotto’s death comes just days after an Ontario Provincial Police officer was killed in northern Ontario.

OPP Const. Tarun Bali was struck and killed by a vehicle Tuesday near the town of Hearst, east of Thunder Bay. An 18-year-old suspect was charged with first-degree murder and other offences in Bali’s death.

Carney said the deaths of Pinizzotto and Bali were tragic.

“Canada mourns the loss of these brave officers who dedicated their lives to protecting their communities,” he said in a social media post earlier Thursday. “My prayers are with their loved ones, their fellow officers, and their communities in this time of grief.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also offered his condolences to Pinizzotto’s family and the Toronto Police Service.

“Today is a sobering reminder of the sacrifices and risks faced by police officers across Ontario every day as they work to keep our province safe,” he said in a social media post.

Meanwhile, Chow called Pinizzotto’s death “heartbreaking.”

“There are no words that can ease the pain of the family, the loved ones and the colleagues across the service,” Chow said outside the hospital. “Their grief is shared across the entire city.”

Coun. Shelley Carroll, who chairs the Toronto Police Service Board, said Pinizzotto “made the ultimate sacrifice in service of others.”

“Toronto stands with the officer’s family and the entire service during this difficult time,” she said in a statement.

Demkiw said there’s “deep sadness and sorrow” in the policing community this week.

“These moments remind us of the dangers our members face each and every day,” he said. “In the last two days, we’ve seen tragic loss of life … we’re standing together to support one another,” he said.

Pinizzotto, who had a wife and children, was also a former Ontario Junior Hockey League player.

The OJHL said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” to learn of his death

“His passing is a profound loss for his family, his colleagues, his community, and the entire hockey world,” it said.

Toronto’s iconic CN Tower said its lights would dim for the first five minutes of every hour Thursday night in honour of Pinizzotto.

Last August, eight-year-old JahVai Roy was killed by a stray bullet while he was lying in bed with his mother in the same apartment building. The boy’s death devastated the community and prompted calls to act on gun violence in the city.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2026.

Elissa Mendes and Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press