Vaughan Teen Accused of Firing Replica Gun at People Outside Synagogue Released on Bail

An 18-year-old man from Vaughn, Ont., accused of shooting at groups of visibly identifiable Jewish people with a gel pellet gun, has been arrested and released on $2,000 bail.

Ruslan Novruzov was released on May 11 with conditions he remain in his house in Vaughan at all times except in the event of a medical emergency. He was also barred from having weapons—including pellet guns and imitation firearms—and prohibited from contacting the alleged victims or being within 200 metres of them, outside of court appearances.

Police arrested Novruzov on May 8 in connection with two alleged hate-motivated incidents involving assault with a weapon. One assault was alleged to have occurred on April 30 and another on May 7, a Toronto police news release said.

The April 30 assault was in the area of Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West, the release said. Three visibly identifiable members of the Jewish community were walking outdoors when a suspect in a vehicle allegedly fired a replica firearm, described by police as a “gel-blaster imitation firearms,” before fleeing the scene in a blue SUV. The victims sustained minor injuries in the incident.

A similar incident was reported on May 7 near Bathurst Street and Highway 401, where three people standing outside the Congregation Chasidei Bobov synagogue were allegedly targeted by suspects in a passing vehicle. One victim in that attack was struck and sustained minor injuries, before the suspects fled in a blue Lexus SUV.

Shortly after 7 a.m. on May 8, police executed warrants to search a residence and a vehicle in Vaughan, where investigators seized evidence including two “gel-blaster imitation firearms.” The guns typically fire water-absorbing gel pellets and are sold as toys.

Following the search, Novruzov was arrested and charged with four counts of assault with a weapon and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Police said the two incidents were being investigated as suspected hate-motivated offences.

“While the weapons used were imitation firearms, the impacts are very real. These are criminal acts that we allege were meant to intimidate and cause fear,” Toronto Police Service Acting Deputy Chief Joe Matthews said.

“We recognize that Jewish residents have been living with a heightened sense of fear due to repeated incidents targeting their community, and this only adds to that, which is unacceptable,” he said.

The shootings come amid a spate of hate crimes targeting Jewish communities across Canada since late 2023, with the highest concentration of attacks occurring in the Greater Toronto Area.

Anti-Semitic attacks across Canada hit a record high of 6,800 incidents in 2025, a 145.6 percent jump from 2022, B’nai Brith said at a news conference on Parliament Hill on April 27.