How the murder of an Ontario cop traced back to this Arizona mom
For Subscribers Star Exclusive: Part 2
How the murder of an Ontario cop traced back to this Arizona mom
There is no way to know how many of Cynthia Solano's guns have been used to maim and kill Canadians — but for one Glock handgun, the story is clear.
May 25, 2025
12 min read
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By Betsy PowellCourts Reporter
This story is the second in a two-part series on the Glock 19 handgun used to kill OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala and how cheap, legally purchased U.S. weapons are fuelling a Canadian epidemic. Part 1 told the story of convicted American gun runner Cynthia Solano, in her own words.
HAGERSVILLE, Ont.—On Dec. 27, 2022, around 2:30 p.m., OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala responded to a routine call for a vehicle in a ditch just west of this small, rural town.
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Betsy Powell is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and courts for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @powellbetsy.
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Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump vows to 'HIT' any protester who spits on police. He pardoned those who did far worse on Jan. 6
In one of his first acts of his second term as president, Donald Trumppardoned hundreds of people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to keep him in office, including those who beat police officers. On Monday, Trump posted a warning on social media to those demonstrating in Los Angeles against his immigration crackdown and confronting police and members of the National Guard he had deployed: 'IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT, and I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!' The discrepancy of Trump's response to the two disturbances — pardoning rioters who beat police on Jan. 6, which he called 'a beautiful day,' while condemning violence against law enforcement in Los Angeles — illustrates how the president expects his enemies to be held to different standards than his supporters. 'Trump's behavior makes clear that he only values the rule of law and the people who enforce it when it's to his political advantage,' said Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College. Trump pardoned more than 1,000 people who tried to halt the transfer of power on that day in 2021, when about 140 officers were injured. The former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, called it 'likely the largest single day mass assault of law enforcement ' in American history. Trump's pardon covered people convicted of attacking police with flagpoles, a hockey stick and a crutch. Many of the assaults were captured on surveillance or body camera footage that showed rioters engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police as officers desperately fought to beat back the angry crowd. 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A White House spokesman, Harrison Fields, defended the president's response: 'President Trump was elected to secure the border, equip federal officials with the tools to execute this plan, and restore law and order.' Trump has long planned to use civil unrest as an opportunity to invoke broad presidential powers, and he seemed poised to do just that on Monday as he activated a battalion of U.S. Marines to support the presence of the National Guard. He mobilized the Guard on Saturday over the opposition of California's governor, Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats. The Guard was last sent to Los Angeles by a president during the Rodney King riots in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act. Those riots were significantly more violent and widespread than the current protests in Los Angeles, which were largely confined to a stretch of downtown, a relatively small patch in a city of 469 square miles and nearly 4 million people. 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Toronto Sun
9 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
WARMINGTON: Details scarce after 15-year-old shot dead in latest violence to rock city
But Toronto Police keeping card close to their vest is often a sign that they have a good probe underway to search for the shooter Get the latest from Joe Warmington straight to your inbox A Toronto Police vehicle is see at Bluffers Park in Scarborough, Aug. 17, 2020. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk / Toronto Sun It looks like the shooter or shooters were looking for a specific teenager and on Saturday night they not only found him but murdered him. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account It was loud when it happened in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood, but has gone quiet ever since. But when you have 15-year-olds shot in what looks like a targeted murder, you know as a city you have a major problem that just can't be glossed over, or pretend that everything is okay. It's not okay. The victims seem to be getting younger and so do the shooters and violent criminals. And Toronto as a whole, and the Canadian justice system, does not seem to have any answer for it — or much of a desire to find one. The gang wars seem to go from one generation to the other and few seem to care unless a bullet hits an unintended target. Then there's outrage. But there should be outrage every time a 15-year-old is gunned down in cold blood — which is what happened Saturday just after 10 p.m. at Emmett Ave. and Jane St. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Investigators with Toronto Police Homicide are all over this case, which witnesses say involved a shooter, or shooters, approaching in a car and firing toward 10 people — shooting one in the chest who later was pronounced dead. 'Multiple shots were fired,' said one first responder. 'There were about 10 people shot at. One hit.' Police are keeping evidence close to the vest, as well as just where they are taking their investigation. It's not believed to be connected to last week's fatal Lawrence Heights shooting or recent violence in the Driftwood neighbourhood. From downtown to Jamestown to Rexdale to Scarborough, whatever the reason, Toronto Police understand the players and the beefs and are working hard to solve Toronto's 14th homicide of 2025. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We can understand how concerning incidents like this are to members of the community,' Det. Sgt. Phillip Campbell said during a media scrum Sunday. Police worked all weekend gathering evidence but did not offer an updated news release on Monday. Perhaps they are close to an arrest? Or just hard at work gathering evidence. SHOOTING: Emmett Ave & Jane St @TPS12DIV10:06 pm-police responded to reports of a shooting in the area-officers arrived on scene and located a male victim with a gunshot wound -male victim being transported to hospital by @TorontoMedics -suspect fled the area#GO1186586 ^sm— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) June 8, 2025 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'There won't be a release today,' said Toronto Police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer on Monday. 'The decision to publicly identify a homicide victim — particularly a young person — is made in close consultation with the family. As you can appreciate, this is an incredibly sensitive situation.' We do understand. These are families that are torn apart. It's ugly. But young people dying and their names being kept from the public is a concerning trend because if you don't have a victim or a picture, it's hard for the public to feel something — from sadness to outrage. 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Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7400, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at Maybe your call will help solve this horrible murder of a 15-year-old human being who had a name and life before having it stolen from him Saturday. Read More RECOMMENDED VIDEO Toronto Blue Jays Olympics World Celebrity Olympics
Ottawa Citizen
9 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Jewish outrage at RCMP war-crimes probe of Canadian IDF soldiers
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