Fire, graffiti at Jewish-owned business 'targeted,' being probed as hate-motivated: Toronto police

Toronto police say its hate crime unit is investigating a fire at a Jewish-owned grocery store that was also spray-painted with the words "Free Palestine."

Police say the fire is being probed as suspected hate-motivated arson. The graffiti is being probed as a possible hate crime.

Staff Supt. Pauline Gray, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told reporters on Wednesday that International Delicatessen Foods, on Steeles Avenue West near Petrolia Road, was targeted.

"I've been a criminal investigator the vast majority of my career, and in most of those criminal investigations, there was a tipping point. This is this tipping point," Gray said near the scene. 

"This is not graffiti on a bus shelter. This is not lawful protest protected by constitutional right. This is a criminal act. It is violent, it is targeted, it is organized, and it will receive the weight of the Toronto Police Service to exactly what it deserves," she added.

"We will leave no stone unturned. We will use all the resources available to us to investigate, arrest and prosecute who is responsible for this."

Earlier on Wednesday, the owner of the business confirmed to CBC Toronto that he is Jewish and said he believes the vandalism is an act of antisemitism.

The business's name is displayed as the acronym "IDF" in large red letters above the building's entrance. IDF is also the acronym for Israel Defence Forces, who are currently waging war in the Gaza Strip.

The business had its windows broken in the incident, but no one was reported to be injured.

According to officials, police and firefighters were called to the scene at about 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke coming from the rear. Fire crews entered the building and quickly extinguished the blaze.

Gray said officers found the graffiti on the outside of the building at the same time that the fire was discovered.

She said police suspect the incident was motivated by hate and believe it was committed "with bias or prejudice."

"We're very early on in the investigation and I must highlight when I say it's organized, they didn't just happen upon this business. Let's be not silly here. These people have targeted this business and so that means they've been here before," she said.

The fire and graffiti come after a December Toronto police service board meeting in which Chief Myron Demkiw said antisemitism had made up a majority of all reported hate crimes since Oct. 7, when the Israeli-Hamas war began. Police have previously noted that hate crimes often go underreported out of fear of retaliation.