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To his mother, Linda, Marc Pinizzotto was “an incredible father, son, husband, coach and friend of many.”
To the people across the country sending condolences and tributes in the wake his death in the line of duty, the Toronto police officer was a hero.
In a tribute to her son posted on social media Friday, Linda Pinizzotto said her family is devastated by his loss, but thankful for the outpouring of grief they have received.
“We are forever sincerely grateful for your heartfelt blessings, wonderful messages of condolence, and kindness,” she wrote. “His passing echoes deep inside us, our loving family is shattered as we search for words.”
Const. Marc Pinizzotto, 43, died after being shot at a fourth-floor apartment building in northwest Toronto Thursday, as officers carried out an investigation into multiple shootings, including several targeting Toronto-area synagogues and one at the U.S. Consulate in March.
Hours after his death, hundreds of officers stood shoulder to shoulder, some wiping their eyes, as a procession carried Pinizzotto’s body from Sunnybrook hospital to the office of the chief coroner. Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw tearfully called him a “hero in life, not death.”
There have been tributes from a number of officials, including Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said ‘it was with very heavy heart the day began’ on Thursday after Toronto’s Const. Marc Pinizzotto died in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect, an incident that followed the death of OPP Const. Tarun Bali on Tuesday. ‘The country [mourns] with their families, their loved ones, their fellow officers, their communities,’ Carney said.
At the House of Commons Thursday, legislators began question period by grieving the fallen officer, saying Ottawa was supporting the investigation into his killing.
Mayor Chow, who said she’s known Pinizzotto’s mother for years, said she was grateful for the constable’s service, and his family’s grief was shared by the people of Toronto.
Premier Ford extended his condolences to Pinizzotto’s family and colleagues, saying in a post on X that the shooting was “a sobering reminder of the sacrifices and risks faced by police officers across Ontario every day as they work to keep our province safe.”
Several Toronto city councillors and Greater Toronto Area police services also released statements paying tribute to Pinizzotto Thursday. The CN Tower said its bright lights were expected to dim for the first five minutes of every hour on Thursday night.
Pinizzotto’s death came days after Ontario Provincial Police Const. Tarun Bali was struck and killed by a vehicle near the northern Ontario town of Hearst, east of Thunder Bay. A procession transporting Bali to a funeral home in Thornhill was scheduled for Friday morning.
Ontario hockey community feeling loss
Pinizzotto worked relentlessly to protect his community as a dedicated emergency task force officer, and he was just as passionate about hockey, his mother wrote Friday.
The officer was an inspiration to a generation of young Oakville Rangers hockey players, whom he and his brothers helped coach and develop over the better part of a decade, club president John Vedon said.
“That’s about as good a legacy as I think a hockey guy could ever want to have,” he said.
The Ontario Junior Hockey League released a statement Thursday, sending condolences to Pinizotto’s family, colleagues and community, saying his death was also a loss to “the entire hockey world.”
Officer’s death follows shooting of boy in same building
Pinizzotto was fatally shot in the same building where an eight-year-old boy, JahVai Roy, was killed by a stray bullet while lying in bed next to his mother last summer. Roy’s mother said Thursday’s shooting was a painful reminder.
“There was a lot of emotion for me, and I really, I feel for the officer’s family,” Holly Roy said.
She said she hoped a second fatal shooting in the building would spark conversations about safer housing, stronger community and mental health supports, as well as gun violence prevention.
“This should be a priority because everybody deserves to feel safe where they live,” said Roy, who said she left the building after her son’s death.
“Your home should be a refuge, not a place where you’re worrying about shootings and violence and criminal activity spilling into your hallways and doorways like this. It’s so out of control.”
Man facing charges, another still at large: police
Police say 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett faces a first-degree murder charge in connection to Pinizzotto’s death. They say Bennett was shot multiple times in the exchange of gunfire and remains in hospital.
A second suspect, 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, is on the loose. Police say Jabbi is wanted in the consulate shooting and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Police say they expect to provide more information on the investigation in the coming days.
Ontario Special Investigations Unit spokesperson Monica Hudon spoke to reporters Thursday, saying an ‘exchange of gunfire’ broke out while police were carrying out a search warrant before Const. Marc Pinizzotto was shot and killed. She says the 19-year-old suspect is now in hospital in critical condition.
The investigation Toronto police were undertaking Thursday, which looked into multiple shootings, including an incident at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, has been linked to a recent FBI terrorism arrest.
Last month the FBI arrested Iraqi-Irani Mohammad Al-Saadi, a senior member of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He is allegedly tied to nearly 20 attacks throughout Europe and the U.S., as well as two attacks in Canada, including the consulate shooting this spring.
