Toronto police officer shot on duty now recovering at home, service says

A Toronto police officer who was shot this week while investigating an alleged robbery was released from hospital and is recovering at home, the service said Friday.

The 29-year-old officer also briefly visited 53 Division, where he works in the major crime unit, to see colleagues before heading home, a police spokesperson said.

On Thursday afternoon, police saidTibor Orgona, 21, was arrested and charged with attempted murderand unauthorized possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting.

Orgona and two others, a 22-year-old woman and a youth, also face multiple charges stemming from the robbery investigation, police said.

Jon Reid, president of the Toronto Police Association, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford both noted in public statements Orgona was out on bail at the time of Wednesday's shooting. Ford repeated his call for the federal government to "fix our broken bail system so we can keep dangerous criminals behind bars and off our streets."

Documents provided by the Ministry of the Attorney General show Orgona has been before criminal courts in various parts of the province in recent years. He was most recently released on bail in May 2024 followinga series of alleged property-theft offences in King Township in York Region.

The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday near the busy corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue. The officer was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

A police source said officers had been watching a parked vehicle they believed to be involved in robberies in the area. The officerswaited for hours for someone to return to it, the source said.

When it appeared no one was coming, the officers called a tow truck, according to the source. As they waited for the tow to arrive on scene, several people approached the vehicle, the source said. When the officers attempted to make arrests, gunshots were exchanged and the officer was hit in his abdomen, according to the source.

The personwho fired on the officers then fled the area, the source said. Orgona'sname and image was then distributed to police throughout the city, the source added.

Orgona wasarrested later Wednesday after 41 Division officers attending Michael Garron Hospital in the east end recognized him, the source said. It is not clear why Orgona was at the hospital, according to the source.

The Special Investigations Unit, which is running its own investigation because an officer discharged their firearm at the scene, said no one had been struck by the officer's gunfire.

Bail system again under scrutiny

The bail system has repeatedly come under the scrutiny of politicians and law enforcement officialswho levy accusations of overly lenient conditions and releases.

It caught the ire of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who said during question period in Ottawa on Thursday that the government's "hug-a-thug" system is putting people at risk.

Government House leader Karina Gould said no police officer should be hurt in the line of duty, but Poilievre's comments showed he was "trampling" over Canadians' rights.

Studies and prisoners' rights advocates have been critical of the argument that bail should be more restrictive, saying that erodes a fundamental principle of the justice system the presumption of innocence.

Late last year, after provincial premiers including Ford called onthe federal government to fix what they deemed a broken system, Ottawa legislated to tighten bail rules. Local authorities are ultimately responsible for managing the system governed by those laws.

Wednesday's shooting of a police officer also put gun violence in Toronto under the spotlight.

The first nine months of 2024 have already seen more shootings, and more deaths due to firearm violence, than in each of the past three years.

Police Chief Myron Demkiw said the force had upped its presence in neighbourhoods most affected by shootings, and police had made 746 firearm-related arrests so far this year.

He said police data indicate this year's figures are on par with pre-pandemic rates.