Gangland Files · Daily Briefing

Toronto Police Charge Syed Raza of Toronto With Four Offences, Including Arson, Mischief and Disobey Lawful Order of Court, After Israeli Flags Displayed in Front of a Church Near Sunrise Avenue and O’Connor Drive Were Set on Fire (October 13, 2026)

Toronto police have charged Syed Raza, of Toronto, with four offences after Israeli flags in front of a church near Sunrise Avenue and O’Connor Drive were set on fire, CP24 reported on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 11:11 a.m. EDT. According to CP24, Toronto police allege the accused removed the flags that were in front of the church, lit them on fire, then fled the area. CP24 describes a 29-year-old man as facing the charges and names three of the four offences: arson, mischief and disobey lawful order of court. CP24 reports that no injuries were reported. Raza is charged, not convicted, and is presumed innocent; the charges have not been tested in court.

What Police Allege

According to CP24, Toronto police allege the accused removed the flags that were in front of the church, lit them on fire, then fled the area. CP24 reports that no injuries were reported. It gives the time of the fire as around 1 a.m. on “last Wednesday” and does not date it. An earlier CTV News Toronto report by Codi Wilson, published Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 7:01 a.m. EDT (updated 12:16 p.m.) under the headline “Israeli flags set on fire near church in Toronto’s east end, police investigating,” said police were investigating after Israeli flags were set on fire near a church early that Wednesday morning.

CP24 identifies the church as the Word of Faith International Centre, near Sunrise Avenue and O’Connor Drive. It does not say who displayed the flags.

The Identification and the Charges

CP24 reports that investigators identified the accused at a demonstration in downtown Toronto on a Saturday afternoon, near Dundas and Yonge streets. The article does not mention an arrest and does not date that Saturday. It refers to a news release issued by police on Tuesday.

CP24 reports that Raza has been charged with four offences, including arson, mischief and disobey lawful order of court. Three of the four are therefore named and one is not. The account does not describe the court order underlying the disobey lawful order of court count. CP24 also reports that police said previously they were investigating the incident as a hate-motivated offence; it does not describe the charges as hate-motivated. No police unit is named in the account.

The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and none of the four offences has been tested in court. The allegations are the Toronto Police Service’s as reported by CP24. No criminal organization has been named in connection with this file.