Montreal [Canada], November 14 (ANI): For the second time in a week, a Jewish school in Montreal was targeted by gunfire, Canada-based CTV News reported.
As soon as the gunshots were reported, police were called to the Cote-des-Neiges neighbourhood around 5 am on Deacond Road, near Van Horne Avenue.
Police officers discovered bullet holes in the facade of the Jewish school Yeshiva Gedola.
However, no one was inside the building at the time of gunfire and no injuries were reported, according to CTV News.
Moreover, the witnesses told Montreal police (SPVM) that they saw a vehicle speeding off after the shots were fired.
“Bullet casings were found on the ground,” police spokesperson Veronique Dubuc said.
The attack on Yeshiva Gedola is the third time, a Montreal Jewish school has been shot this week.
Earlier on Thursday, police discovered bullet holes at Yeshiva Gedola as well as at United Talmud Torahs of Montreal Inc., reported CTV News.
Meanwhile, the first two shootings are being investigated as hate crimes, according to the police.
According to the Service de police de la Ville de Montreal (SPVM) statistics gathered from October 7 to November 7, showed that 73 hate crime incidents targeting Jewish communities in the city, as well as, 25 targeting the Arab-Muslim community have been reported.
Charles Abelson, who lives near the school, said, “Everybody feels a bit nervous. Of course, I mean you’re living right next door to where bullet shots were fired.”
Moreover, following the shootings, several patients said that they felt uneasy bringing their kids to classes, according to CTV News.
Yeshiva Gedolah is an early childhood centre (CPE) and houses primary, secondary and post-secondary classes.
Following the incident, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante condemned the shooting at a press briefing on Sunday morning.
“The Jewish community in Montreal is currently under attack. It’s a big issue, it’s a big problem,” she said, adding that Montreal must remain “a city of peace.”
“We can have opinions that differ…But there is no reason, there is no reason that justifies shooting at an elementary school, at our communities. An anti-Semitic act like this has no place in Montreal,” she added.
Notably, tensions have been on the rise in Montreal’s cultural communities lately, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
On Wednesday afternoon, police were called to Concordia University in downtown Montreal after an altercation between students became violent. The university said pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students were involved in the incident.
A 22-year-old student was arrested by the police on assault charges. It said that one student and two security guards suffered minor injuries in the incident, CTV News reported. (ANI)
