Teen accused in shooting death of Toronto police officer appears in court

The 19-year-old man accused of fatally shooting Toronto police Const. Marc Pinizzotto made his second appearance in a Toronto courtroom Friday morning, charged with first-degree murder.

Nicholas Bennett appeared in the Toronto Regional Bail Centre via Zoom on Friday morning, according to court documents obtained by Global News.

Pinizzotto, a member of the Emergency Task Force (ETF), was critically injured around 5:40 a.m. Thursday when he was shot while executing a search warrant at 15 Martha Eaton Way.

The suspected shooter was shot in a return of gunfire.

According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigating the interaction surrounding an exchange of gunfire, ETF officers attended the building to execute several search warrants in connection with shootings in the city.

The SIU said officers made their way to a fourth-floor apartment unit, where, once inside, a man discharged his firearm at Pinizzotto who was struck.

A second officer then discharged his firearm at the suspect, resulting in the suspect being hit multiple times. Both Pinizzotto and the suspected shooter were rushed to hospital.

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The SIU says the suspect, identified by Toronto police as Bennett, remains in hospital in critical condition.

Pinizzotto, a 43-year-old officer who had 18 years on the job, was rushed to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where he was pronounced dead.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said that some of the arrests that the EFT officers were executing  at the building on Martha Eaton Way involved the shooting at the United States Consulate on March 10, 2026.

An arrest warrant has been issued for 19-year-old Zara Jabbi in relation to the consulate shooting. Jabbi still remains at large.

Sheldon Tracy-Stewart, 18, was also arrested Thursday in predawn raids in connection with the shooting at the consulate, according to documents obtained by Global News.

The documents show that ETF officers were there to arrest Bennett in regard to two separate shootings in late March 2026. The documents do not allege Bennett was involved in the consulate shooting.

Bennet is also being charged in connection with a shooting that happened a few weeks later at an apartment building on Eglinton Avenue and Markham Road on March 25.

According to a Toronto police post on X, the call came in at 4:29 a.m., where officers located evidence of a firearm discharge although no injuries were reported.

In relation to that shooting, Bennett is charged with firearms offences involving a prohibited .45-calibre handgun and committing an indictable offence while having his face masked.

Bennett is also charged in connection with intentionally discharging a handgun into the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gym at Islington Avenue and Lakeshore Boulevard East on March 26, according to court documents.

Toronto police reported that at 3:32 a.m., officers responded to a “sounds of gunshots” call in the area.

Officers located evidence of gunfire near commercial premises.

The TPS said that responding officers attempted to stop a vehicle fleeing the scene without success.

Bennet is also charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, namely a stolen 2023 Honda Civic.

The vehicle then collided with a fence near Eglinton Avenue West and Royal York Road before the suspect(s) fled on foot. No injuries were reported.

Bennett, who remains in hospital, is expected to make his next court appearance on Saturday.

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