Thornhill Iranian gym hit by gunfire hours after protest activities

Someone opened fire on a boxing gym in Thornhill early Sunday morning, riddling the Iranian-owned business with bullets in what cops are calling a targeted hit. The place has been hosting Iranian activists who’ve been organizing protests.

York Regional Police got the call around 3 a.m.

After neighbours heard gunshots near Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue West. When officers arrived, they found Saliwan Boxing gym shot to pieces – windows blown out, front entrance torn up by bullet holes.

Thank god nobody was inside. No one got hurt.

Political Posters and Iranian Flags Everywhere

Here’s what makes this interesting – the gym’s front was covered in Iranian flags and protest posters when the shooting went down. People in the area told reporters the business had become a regular meetup spot for Iranian-Canadians over the past few months.

These folks had been using the space to organize rallies and plan protests supporting regime change back in Iran. Pretty convenient timing for an attack, if you ask me.

The motive behind the shooting is unknown and there’s no suspect information at this time.

That’s what York Regional Police are saying officially. But come on – this wasn’t some random drive-by. The Firearms Investigations Team is handling things now, which tells you everything you need to know about how seriously they’re taking this.

Police spokesman Constable Andy Pattenden confirmed they’re treating this as targeted. The 3 a.m. Timing? That suggests whoever did this knew the gym would be empty. They’d been watching the place.

Security folks say this kind of early morning hit is classic intimidation tactics. You’re not trying to hurt anyone – you’re trying to scare the hell out of them. Shooting up a place covered in Iranian protest materials? That’s not subtle.

Place Got Absolutely Destroyed

The damage is brutal.

Police won’t say exactly how many rounds got fired, but evidence markers at the scene suggested at least 8 to 10 bullets hit the building. Video from the scene shows windows completely shattered and the entrance area looking like a war zone.

Investigators are now going door-to-door looking for security camera footage from around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. With all the businesses and apartment buildings in that area, someone’s camera had to catch something.

The building was empty when it happened, which probably saved lives. But whoever did this wasn’t messing around – they put serious firepower into that storefront.

Repair estimates are running several thousand dollars, though the owner hasn’t given a full damage report yet. Just replacing those blown-out windows is going to cost around $2,500, according to local glass companies.

Ballistics experts are analyzing recovered bullets to figure out what kind of weapon was used. That could help connect this to other incidents if the same gun shows up elsewhere.

The intersection of Yonge and Steeles gets traffic even in the middle of the night, which makes this attack pretty brazen. These shooters took real risks of being spotted or caught on camera.

This Isn’t the First Time

Iranian-Canadian activists and businesses have been dealing with more and more pressure as the diaspora community has gotten organized against the Iranian regime.

Community centres, businesses, any place that supports the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement – they’ve been reporting threats and vandalism all across the GTA. Some activists are getting intimidated directly by regime supporters.

Looks like the boxing gym got hit because it was serving as a meeting place for Iranian-Canadians organizing political stuff. That’s a scary escalation.

The Iranian Canadian Congress says there’ve been at least 15 documented incidents of harassment or vandalism targeting Iranian-Canadian businesses and activists in the Greater Toronto Area since October 2022.

Wild.

This shooting? It’s the worst one yet.

Dr. Sima Godfrey teaches political science at the University of Toronto and studies diaspora politics. She says this intimidation follows a pattern you can predict.

When diaspora communities organize effectively against authoritarian regimes, they often face retaliation through proxy actors or sympathizers in their host countries. The shooting in Thornhill fits this troubling pattern we’ve seen in other contexts.

Iran’s got a track record of going after dissidents living abroad. Back in 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Iranian intelligence operatives with plotting to kidnap Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad from her home in New York.

CSIS has warned about foreign interference operations targeting diaspora communities here in Canada. They haven’t directly connected this shooting to Iranian state actors, but targeting political activists fits the playbook perfectly.

Local Iranian-Canadian business owners are getting nervous. Several have taken down political displays from their storefronts or stopped hosting community events because they’re worried about their safety.

Community’s Fighting Back But Getting Scared

Iranian diaspora folks in the GTA have been loud and proud in their opposition to the Tehran regime, especially after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody back in September 2022. That sparked massive protests in Iran.

Local businesses and community centres became important places for organizing solidarity events, raising money, and planning demonstrations. This attack could shut a lot of that down.

If scaring the Iranian-Canadian community was the goal, message received loud and clear. Question now is whether other businesses and activists are going to face similar attacks.

Canada’s got about 210,000 Iranian immigrants, with most living in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. The GTA alone has roughly 100,000 Iranian-Canadians – one of the biggest Persian-speaking communities outside Iran.

Since the protests started in Iran after Amini’s death, Iranian-Canadians have organized dozens of rallies and demonstrations across the country. Toronto’s seen some of the biggest gatherings – crowds hitting 5,000 to 8,000 people at major events.

Tough spot.

Community leaders figure about 70% of Iranian-Canadians actively support the protest movement in Iran. They’re participating in local demonstrations, sending money, or advocating on social media.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay, a prominent Iranian-Canadian activist and former Miss World Canada, posted on social media about her concerns over the escalating intimidation tactics after news of the shooting broke.

Several Iranian-owned businesses in the area have temporarily pulled political displays from their windows after Sunday’s attack (which, honestly, nobody saw coming). The Persian Cultural Centre of Toronto cancelled two community meetings scheduled for this week, citing security concerns.

Local mosques and community centres serving the Iranian diaspora have beefed up security (and that’s putting it mildly). They’re hiring private security for evening events and installing more surveillance cameras.

Cops Are on the Case But Staying Quiet

York Regional Police say they’re treating this as targeted, but they haven’t released any suspect descriptions or vehicle info. The Firearms Investigations Team is running the show.

Detectives are focusing on gathering security camera footage from around the time of the shooting. That intersection’s got lots of commercial traffic, so there should be multiple cameras that might’ve caught the attack.

Police haven’t said if they’re investigating this as a hate crime or politically motivated violence. But given the gym’s role in the Iranian diaspora community, seems pretty obvious.

The investigation involves multiple specialized units within York Regional Police. The Intelligence Unit’s looking at potential foreign interference connections, while the Hate Crime Unit’s figuring out if hate crime charges would fit.

Forensic specialists recovered bullet fragments from the scene and they’re doing ballistics analysis to determine what kind of gun was used. This info could help link the attack to other incidents if the same weapon shows up elsewhere.

Police have increased patrols in areas with lots of Iranian-Canadian businesses and community centres. They’ve also reached out to community leaders to talk about additional security measures.

The RCMP Federal Policing unit got notified about the incident given the potential foreign interference angle. But they haven’t formally taken over the investigation from York Regional Police yet.

Crime Stoppers is offering rewards up to $2,000 for information leading to arrests. Police really want any surveillance footage from between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. On Sunday morning.

What This Means for the Rest of Us

This shooting highlights growing security concerns for Iranian-Canadian activists and businesses in the GTA. The diaspora community’s been getting louder in its opposition to the Iranian regime.

That activism has apparently made some community gathering places targets for intimidation or worse. The boxing gym shooting represents a serious jump in tactics.

The incident raises bigger questions about foreign interference in Canada and protecting diaspora communities from transnational repression. Parliament’s Special Committee on Foreign Interference has been looking at these issues, but concrete protective measures are still pretty limited.

Public Safety Canada put $49.5 million in the 2023 federal budget to fight foreign interference, but critics say this money isn’t reaching vulnerable communities effectively. Most of it’s gone to federal agencies rather than community-level security improvements.

The Canadian government kicked out Iranian diplomats and slapped sanctions on Iran after the crackdown on protesters, but these measures don’t directly address security threats facing Iranian-Canadians here on Canadian soil.

Legal experts say prosecuting transnational repression cases stays challenging under current Canadian law. The government’s promised new legislation to address foreign interference, but it’s still working its way through Parliament.

For Iranian-Canadian business owners, the attack creates a tough choice between keeping up their political activism and protecting their businesses. Several have already scaled back their involvement in community organizing after the shooting.

The broader Iranian-Canadian community’s now dealing with how to keep supporting protesters in Iran while staying safe in Canada. Some are calling for more police protection, while others worry that increased security measures could limit their activities even more.

Community organizations are developing new security protocols for events and meetings. They’re using undisclosed venues and screening people who attend. These measures represent a big shift from the open, welcoming approach that used to characterize Iranian-Canadian gatherings.

What This Means Going Forward

When someone fires multiple rounds into a business in the middle of the night, they’re definitely sending a message. The question is whether law enforcement can figure out who’s behind it and stop this type of intimidation from spreading to other diaspora communities across Canada.