Man, 27, arrested after threatening to attack pro-Palestinian protesters with NAIL PISTRATION outside Toronto synagogue
- Demonstration outside Israeli housing exhibition turns ugly after man with nail gun attacks protesters
- ‘Every Palestinian will die’ he shouted as he advanced towards the protest in Toronto on Sunday morning
- Ilan-Reuben Abramov, 27, has been arrested and charged with assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and mischief.
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A small demonstration outside an Israeli housing fair erupted into violence when a man armed with a nail gun lunged at the protesters.
The pro-Palestinians gathered outside a Toronto synagogue where real estate group Home In Israel was showing off properties at an invite-only event.
Footage shows the moment Ilan-Reuben Abramov, 27, drove up in his car and got out with the nail gun, shouting ‘every Palestinian will die’.
He tried to knock away phone cameras, turned on an elderly woman and was charged with assault with a weapon after one of the protesters claimed he fired the device at them.
“I thought it was a real gun and I thought my life would be over at that moment,” one of the protesters said. CTV Newsshowing them holes in his jacket, allegedly caused by the fingernails.
Ilan-Reuben Abramov, 27, has been arrested and charged with assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and mischief
Footage shows him swearing angrily as he approaches protesters with a nail gun
At one point he had an angry face-off with an older woman before pushing her away
Police said the demonstration in the Thornhill district had been ‘peaceful’ until Abramov arrived in his car.
“Officers identified several witnesses who said a man had stopped his vehicle near pro-Palestinian protesters and began shouting obscenities at them while he became confrontational with three of the protesters,” a York Regional Police spokesman said.
‘At one point one of the victims told police the suspect fired a nail gun that he was carrying.’
The protesters claimed the real estate group was selling homes on illegally occupied land in the West Bank, and about 100 had turned out to protest on Sunday morning.
A counter-demonstration had been organized at the site, which also hosts a synagogue, but police said both sides had been successfully kept apart and people could enter and exit the synagogue freely.
“You need to calm down and step back,” one told Abramov as he approached.
“Do you have a serious problem?” he replied before pushing her.
‘You just shot it at me and you shot it at another guy!’ can be heard screaming as the heavily built man returned to his car.
Police said Abramov has been charged with assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and mischief.
“The investigation is ongoing, there is no risk to public safety at this time,” they added in a statement shared with X.