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Boxing Gym Owned By Iranian Who Has Been Outspoken On Iran’s Regime Targeted By Gunfire In Canada


Could this be the work of an Iranian sleeper cell in Canada?

An Iranian-owned gym was targeted by gunfire on Sunday.

The owner of the gym, who has been very vocal in support of the United States and Israel’s operations against the Iranian regime, believes it was a targeted attack.

Yahoo News provided further context on the shooting:

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An Iranian-owned boxing gym in Thornhill, Ont., was targeted by gunfire early Sunday morning in an apparent threat against activists speaking out against the Islamic Republic governing Iran.

York Regional Police officers were called to Saliwan Boxing, near Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue West, north of Toronto, at around 3 a.m. following reports of a shooting.

The gym’s entrance was riddled with bullet holes and broken glass in videos uploaded to social media by Salar Gholami, the business’s owner and a key activist in anti-regime protests across the Greater Toronto Area in recent months.

“This happened exactly one hour after people had gathered here to deliberate the death of the oppressive leader of the Islamic Republic,” Gholami said in a post, wearing a sweater with an image of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the former King of Iran. “Imagine if families and children had still been here when those shots were fired. The consequences could have been catastrophic.”

“It shows that it’s no longer safe here for Canadians themselves, it’s not just about Iranians,” said a statement shared by Gholami’s spokesperson, Pouria Afkhami. “They’ve created a place where Canadian citizens cannot live comfortably.”

Here’s the owner showing the front of his gym that was shot by gunfire:

The incident comes just a day after a gunman opened fire in Austin, Texas, while wearing an undershirt that featured a pro-Iranian regime message, per CBS:

CBS News has obtained a photo showing the Austin gunman wearing a shirt emblazoned with a design similar to the Iranian flag.

Ndiaga Diagne, who was killed by police after he killed two people and wounded 14, was also wearing a hoodie that said “Property of Allah.”

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U.S. officials say Diagne was a Senegalese-born immigrant who came to the U.S. in 2000 on a tourist visa, got a green card in 2006 after marrying a U.S. citizen and became an American citizen in 2013.

He had at least one prior arrest in 2022 in Texas stemming from a car collision. Sources familiar with the investigation also said Diagne had a history of mental health issues.

Officials have said they’ve been probing a potential terrorism nexus. A law enforcement source briefed on the matter said the gunman appears to have been fueled at least in part by the U.S. attack on Iran.

Sources said the gunman appears to have acted alone but that investigators are scrutinizing his digital footprint and his contacts to see he if was connected to anyone in the United States or overseas who may have influenced him to act.

Officials executed a search warrant at the gunman’s home on Sunday and found an Iranian flag and pictures of Iranian leaders, according to an official with direct knowledge of the investigation. Sources told CBS News that a Quran was found in the gunman’s vehicle.

Here’s a photo of the shirt Diagne wore:

(Warning, it’s graphic):

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