Uber employee arrested in suspected hate crime, assault outside Jewish school in North York

Police have arrested a 21-year-old Uber Eats delivery man in a suspected hate crime outside a Jewish school in North York, where he allegedly hurled anti-Semitic comments and assaulted a staff member.

Investigators say the incident happened on Wednesday outside Yeshiva Gedolah of Toronto, located in the Lawrence Avenue West and Bathurst Street area.

Toronto police claim the man was riding his bicycle and was confronted by students for being on school property. The man returned a short time later and began yelling anti-Semitic comments at the students.

Officers say the man then engaged with school staff, and a physical confrontation took place, during which a staff member was threatened and assaulted.

Police arrested and identified the man as Kyle McLeod, 21, of Toronto. He faces multiple charges, including assault, uttering threats and assault with a weapon.

McLeod will appear in court on July 28.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), a non-profit human rights organization, had initially claimed that McLeod was an Uber Eats employee.

Uber confirmed with CityNews that McLeod had been working with the rideshare service and terminated his employment in light of Wednesday’s attack.

“We have zero tolerance for violence or hate on the Uber platform,” a spokesperson said in an email. “We removed this driver’s access to the app and stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation.”

“Extremely troubling that man with weapon violently threatened people at yeshiva”

The FSWC corroborated that McLeod was armed at the time and threatened to kill Jewish students during yeshiva studies.

The education institution informed Toronto police of the incident on Wednesday. A spokesperson says a weapon was discovered at the scene.

“It is extremely troubling that a man with a weapon violently threatened people at a yeshiva and, even more disturbingly, yelled that he wanted to kill Jews,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, FSWC’s Director of Policy.

“Clearly, this was an antisemitic crime, and the perpetrator must face consequences for his disturbing actions.”

Police said this is an isolated incident and that it’s being investigated as a hate-motivated crime.

“When suspected hate-motivated offences are reported to police, the investigation will be led by a Divisional investigator. The Hate Crime Unit will be made aware and specialized officers from that unit will support the investigation as needed,” a Toronto Police Service news release reads.