Montreal police are investigating after gunfire at two Jewish schools.

The spokesperson for the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM), Jean-Pierre Brabant, said that the police received two calls to 911, one at around 8:20 a.m. and the second shortly before 8:50 a.m.

He added that in both cases, callers reported that the front doors of the schools were shot at, but the police cannot confirm whether there is a connection between the two incidents or not, and it is unclear when the shots were fired.

One of the schools, Talmud Torah Elementary School, is located on Saint Kevin Street in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of the city, and at least one bullet casing was reportedly found at the scene.

The other school is Yeshiva Gedola in Montreal, located on Deacon Road in Outremont.

Brabant said that both schools were empty at the time of the shooting and no one was injured.

David Oliel, an adult studying at Yeshiva Gedola, says the incident will not stop him from practicing his faith publicly.

He said: "I will continue to wear the kippah proudly and will not be afraid to live in my home, where I was born," adding that people have the right to protest the state of Israel but not to target the Jewish people in the city with violence.

The shots fired come at a time of rising tensions in Montreal regarding the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East.

Earlier this week, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a Jewish synagogue in the Dollard-des-Ormeaux suburb of Montreal; yesterday, a brawl broke out at Concordia University resulting in several injuries and one arrest.

Yair Szlak, president and CEO of the CJA Federation – a Jewish advocacy organization – told reporters on Thursday: "The Jewish community, which has nearly 300 years of history in Quebec, is under attack, and antisemitism is not a problem Jews can solve."

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said she is calling for calm. At the same time, she said she wants to make clear that there will be consequences for acts of violence and hatred.

She added, "When I talk to people on the streets, in stores, what people want is peace, so we cannot leave any room for people who want to respond with violence."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also spoke about the recent events in Montreal.

Trudeau said: "For me, violence, hatred, antisemitism, and scenes like those we saw at Concordia University or the shooting at Jewish schools overnight, are all unacceptable and do not represent who we are."

Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters at the same press conference that what happened to the two schools is intolerable.

Public Security Minister François Bonnardel told CBC that he is concerned about the shooting as well as the violence at Concordia University yesterday.

He said, "You take the situation seriously," adding that families should continue sending their children to schools.

Between October 7 and November 7, Montreal police recorded 73 hate crimes and hate incidents against the Jewish community and 25 crimes against the Arab Muslim community.

Last year, Montreal police recorded 72 hate crimes and incidents against all groups throughout the entire year of 2022.