Ontario Review Board
Re: Auran Syed
ORB File No: 6970
Hearing held on: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Place of Hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. C. Flanagan
Members: Dr. K. Hand
Dr. J. Cheston
Ms. C. Fromstein
Ms. B. Naegele
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Auran Syed
Counsel: Ms. S. Feldman
Person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Mr. K. Dow
Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated November 26, 2025)
Introduction
On June 8, 2016, Auran Syed was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on charges of robbery, assault (x3), assault with a weapon, and carry concealed weapon, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (Criminal Code).
At the time of the hearing, Mr. Syed was subject to an order detaining him at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (“Ontario Shores” or “the Hospital”) with privileges up to and including to live in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On October 16, 2025, a panel of the Board convened to review the Disposition in accordance with the requirements of s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Syed and his counsel, Ms. S. Feldman, attended the hearing. A Hospital Report dated September 25, 2025, was filed as Exhibit 1 at the hearing.
The issue to be determined is whether Mr. Syed continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, as defined in section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code, and if so, the necessary and appropriate Disposition to manage that risk, having regard to the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
Initial Position of the Parties
At the outset of the hearing, the parties were canvassed as to their recommendations to the Board.
Mr. Dow, on behalf of the Hospital, stated that Mr. Syed remained a significant threat to the safety of the public and recommended a Conditional Discharge Disposition on the terms and conditions set out on pages 56-57 of the Hospital Report.
Ms. MacDonald, on behalf of the Attorney General of Ontario, supported the recommendation of the Hospital.
Ms. Feldman, on behalf of Mr. Syed, conceded significant threat and supported the recommendation of the Hospital.
Index Offence
- The circumstances of the index offences are set out in the Hospital Report at pages 2-3 as follows:
Robbery
On Thursday May 8, 2014, at approximately 1:00 pm, both victims, Oshane Fowler and Kimberly Kent were standing in line at the Tim Hortons located at 444 Younge St. in the city of Toronto.
Victim#1 was waiting to pay for his order with his wallet in hand. The accused, Mr. Auran Syed, grabbed the wallet, pushing Victim #1 causing everything to be thrown into the air. Mr. Syed then turned to Victim #2 and grabbed onto her purse, a struggle ensued, and Victim #2 and all the contents of her purse went to the ground. Victim #1 grabbed Mr. Syed and dragged him outside onto College St. and Mr. Syed fled the scene.
Assault with a Weapon
On Tuesday July 7, 2014, at approximately 11:45 pm, the accused, Mr. Auran Syed, was at Union Station located at 65 Front Street West in the city of Toronto. Union Station Security Officer Christopher Currie recognized Mr. Syed, as he had trespassed in the past. When he approached Mr. Syed, Mr. Syed ran away.
Officer Currie walked toward the accused who ran to the middle of Bay Street at which time he threw a 500ml full water bottle at Mr. Currie striking him on the right hand that he raised to protect his head. Officer Currie and another security officer told Mr. Syed he was under arrest for assault, but before they could reach him, Mr. Syed pulled out an uncapped syringe and began stabbing himself in the arm, breaking the skin.
Officer Currie and the other officer backed away from Mr. Syed and maintained a safe distance; however, Mr. Syed walked away before the police arrived.
Assault x1
On August 2, 2014, at 9:30 am, the victims in this matter, a visiting male and female couple, were walking on Dundas Street West just east of Bay Street in the City of Toronto.
The accused, Mr. Auran Syed, for no apparent reason approached the male and punched the male in the face knocking him to the ground. When the female confronted Mr. Syed, Mr. Syed again for no apparent reason punched the female victim in the head also knocking her to the ground.
Mr. Syed casually walked away from the injured couple, and he had last been seen north on Bay Street. Police and ambulances were called and treated the couple. Both the male and female were taken to St. Michael’s Hospital for treatment.
Carry Concealed Weapon
On Sunday August 10, 2014, at approximately 3:07 pm, the complainant (Mason) and his girlfriend were sitting inside the McDonald’s restaurant located at 123 Yonge Street in the city of Toronto. The accused, Mr. Auran Syed, was also sitting in the restaurant. After a period, Mr. Syed got up from the table, approached the couple and asked the complainant for change. The complainant declined Mr. Syed by saying “look we are eating” and Mr. Syed walked away. After a few minutes, Mr. Syed returned and said, “don’t disrespect me like that” and he punched the complainant in the face.
Mr. Syed exited the store, and he was followed by other patrons who witnessed the incident. Mr. Syed was arrested a short distance from the scene, given his rights to counsel and transported to 51 Division for processing. While at 51 Division, Mr. Syed was in the process of being booked, searched and lodged. A small two-inch black “buck” folding knife was found concealed on the accused.
Assault x2
On Tuesday, January 5, 2016, both victims went to Yorkdale Mall with several friends. Some of their friends went to the movies so the victims decided to window shop and get a bite to eat. The food court at Yorkdale Mall was located on the second level. As the victims were going up the escalator to the food court, one of the victims noticed the accused, Mr. Auran Syed, on the escalator behind them. When they reached the top, the victims made their way to sushi food booth. As they were standing side by side about to order, Mr. Syed approached them from behind and slapped both of their buttocks. When the victims turned around in shock the accused said, “You are my brother” to the one victim.
Mr. Syed then turned around and walked away to another area of the food court. Security was notified and Mr. Syed was subsequently arrested by the mall officer and escorted to the security office.
Personal Background/Psychiatric History
Mr. Syed’s personal background and psychiatric history are extensively reviewed in the Hospital Report filed as an exhibit at the hearing and need not be repeated here.
Briefly, Mr. Syed is forty years of age and was born in Toronto. Mr. Syed attended private schools and was described as an intelligent child.
At the age of 16, Mr. Syed left the family home and moved in with his childhood nanny and her family. He began to rebel, skip school, and use cannabis regularly. Around this time, his parents’ marriage ended and they divorced. Between the ages of 16 and 19 years old, Mr. Syed moved back and forth between the homes of his mother, father, and nanny - leaving each one when they would try to enforce rules with him. Mr. Syed graduated from high school and, thereafter, attended Sheridan College for a computer programming course in 2009. He reportedly dropped out of this program as he had difficulty concentrating.
Around the age of 19 or 20 his behaviour became bizarre, and his family started to notice first signs of mental illness. Over the decade or so prior to the index offences, Mr. Syed lived in shelters in Toronto. His father reported that he believed Mr. Syed used cannabis, cocaine, and possibly GHB on a regular basis. Mr. Syed was arrested several times, mostly for stealing and petty crimes.
Mr. Syed was first admitted to the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) in December 2007 for approximately one month. He was experiencing psychotic and paranoid symptoms following drug abuse. In the years between 2010 and 2016, Mr. Syed was brought to hospital several times, suffering from auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions.
At the time of the hearing, Mr. Syed was subject to a Detention Disposition of the ORB and living in the community. He is financially supported by the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and he remained capable of consenting to psychiatric treatment.
Current Diagnosis
- Mr. Syed’s diagnoses include Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type, Cannabis Use Disorder, Moderate (in remission), and Cocaine Use Disorder, Moderate (in remission).
Evidence at the Hearing
The Hospital’s evidence was presented through the oral testimony of Dr. D. Bhullar to supplement the Hospital Report, filed as an exhibit at the hearing.
Mr. Syed resides at Scott House, a 4-bedroom, complex care, highly supported group home managed by Durham Mental Health Services (DMHS). Dr. Bhullar advised that Mr. Syed has struggled and destabilized in a lesser type of accommodation. She stated that Scott House is a good fit for Mr. Syed, and he had a good relationship with staff. Dr. Bhullar advised that Mr. Syed would likely remain at this accommodation for the duration of the upcoming year.
Mr. Syed had a positive year with no hospitalization, or any incidents of physical or verbal aggression. His fragile mental state remained relatively stable, and his urine drug screens were all negative during the reporting year. Mr. Syed enjoyed a good relationship with his outpatient forensic treatment team.
There were two notable incidents during the reporting year. On May 13, 2025, Mr. Syed was brought into Ontario Shores to be assessed after the group home reported several concerns. There were two emails from the group home staff. The first email, dated May 2, 2025, detailed several behavioural changes observed by group home staff including engaging with internal stimuli more often than usual, such as laughing when alone or staring intensely. The second email, dated May 12, 2025, documented a call from Mr. Syed’s mother. She expressed significant concern about her son, reporting that he was showing increased paranoia, auditory hallucinations, and delusional thought processes. As a result, of the slight exacerbation of his psychotic symptoms, his long-acting antipsychotic medication was increased.
Dr. Bhullar advised that since that time, Mr. Syed has learnt to rate (from 1-10) his auditory hallucinations, which he tends to hear intermittently. His baseline is approximately 2 out of 10. As an example, the doctor advised that on September 22, 2025, during a routine follow-up appointment with his psychiatrist, Mr. Syed reported that he had noted an increase in the auditory hallucinations and agreed to increase his antipsychotic medication.
Mr. Syed has maintained regular contact with his mother, speaking to her weekly by phone and visiting each other monthly. Typical plans with his mother include going to get his hair cut, ordering food, and buying snacks and drinks for his consumption at the group home. While receiving support from the group home staff, Mr. Syed has successfully utilized his community privileges on multiple occasions, including going to the mall, movies, Walmart, grocery store, and community pool.
Dr. Bhullar agreed that Mr. Syed remains a significant risk to the safety of the public. She adopted the clinical assessment of risk on page 55 of the Hospital Report that states in part:
“Mr. Syed’s primary risk factors for re-offense include his major mental illness (namely, schizoaffective disorder), history of violence and substance use, and residual psychotic symptoms (auditory hallucinations, flat affect, poverty of speech). Mr. Syed’s psychotic illness is brittle in nature; his mental state is known to deteriorate in the context of acute stressors (e.g., chores, moving residences), despite adequate and appropriate treatment and compliance”
- Dr. Bhullar supported a Conditional Discharge Disposition. His risk for future violence was determined to fall in the Low-Moderate range if awarded a Conditional Discharge. In this regard, she highlighted the necessity of the high support he received in his current complex care residence. As stated on page 56 of the Hospital report:
“Mr. Syed does not fully appreciate the fragile nature of his illness, which has previously been exacerbated by daily stressors, nor the necessity of a highly supportive residence. Although motivated to live independently, the treatment team unanimously believes that such a move would likely precipitate an exacerbation of psychotic symptoms and would not permit the necessary oversight to identify early signs of decompensation”
Dr. Bhullar elaborated that Mr. Syed’s increased insight and transparency with the treatment team, combined with a treatment clause and residence condition wherein he received a high level of support, would allow for effective risk management under a Conditional Discharge Disposition and the MHA. Such a Disposition would allow the hospital to bring him in for assessment before his risk to the public increased. In this regard, the doctor was confident Mr. Syed would return to hospital voluntarily if requested to do so. The doctor added that the suggested wording by the Hospital “to reside in supportive housing associated with Durham Mental Health Services” allowed for flexibility in the upcoming year.
No further evidence was presented at the hearing.
Final Submissions of the Parties
During final submissions, the parties were asked by the Board their position regarding specifying Mr. Seyed’s current address in the Disposition as opposed to “reside in supportive housing associated with Durham Mental Health Services” as suggested by the Hospital.
Mr. Dow, on behalf of the Hospital, maintained his initial position. He submitted that the suggested residence condition by the Hospital mitigates any concern of Mr. Syed being placed in sub-optimal housing and provides flexibility. He submitted, however, that he did not have strong objection to the residence being specified in the Disposition.
Ms. MacDonald, on behalf of the Attorney General of Ontario, maintained her initial position. She submitted that Mr. Syed was happy at his current residence, not expected to move in the next year, and had no issue if the Board found it appropriate to specify an address in the Disposition. She submitted that if for some reason Mr. Syed had to move, an early Board could be called.
Ms. Feldman, on behalf of Mr. Syed, maintained her initial position. She submitted that he had a positive year. He is able to rate his symptoms, has been transparent with the treatment team, open to increase medication and the MHA, together with protective factors would be sufficient to manage the risk under a Conditional Discharge Disposition. Ms. Feldman further submitted that Mr. Syed was agreeable to either a residency condition under DMHS or his current address being specified in the Disposition. She stated however, that she would not like to see him lose the opportunity to move to other accommodation , if available and appropriate.
Conclusion and Disposition
Having considered all the evidence presented at the hearing, the Board finds that Mr. Syed continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public as set out in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code. We make this finding based on the evidence of Dr. Bhullar and the evidence contained in the Hospital Report filed as an exhibit at the hearing, notwithstanding the joint position on significant threat of the parties.
Mr. Syed’s index offences involve violence. His psychiatric illness is brittle in nature. His primary risk factors include his major mental illness, history of violence, substance use, and residual psychotic symptoms. He also has a history of medication non-adherence prior to the index offences. Mr. Syed’s mental state is known to deteriorate in the context of acute stressors, despite adequate and appropriate treatment and compliance. As such, we accept the evidence of risk, as testified by Dr. Bhullar and outlined in pages 54-56 of the Hospital Report, and find Mr. Syed remains a significant threat to the safety of the public.
In this regard, this Board agrees that a Conditional Discharge Disposition is the most necessary and appropriate, and least onerous and least restrictive Disposition at this juncture. Mr. Syed has remained compliant with his medication regimen, has improved his insight into recognizing the level of his symptoms, and remains cooperative with both his forensic outpatient team and staff at his DMHS complex care accommodation.
We also find that a treatment clause and residency condition are both necessary in his Disposition to manage the risk in the community. Should Mr. Syed become non-compliant with medication, a treatment clause would allow the treatment team to facilitate an assessment at the hospital. Most importantly, as emphasized by Dr. Bhullar in her evidence, the high support that Mr. Syed receives at his current complex care home at Scott House (as managed by DMHS), is an essential component to managing his risk on a Conditional Discharge. As was the case early in the reporting year, the high support and supervision of this accommodation allow staff to monitor his ongoing mental state, noting any increase in his psychotic symptoms and/or behaviour. It is also clear on the evidence that any less supportive environment could lead to destabilization of his mental state and potentially elevate the risk to the community. However, not all housing under the umbrella of DMHS is highly supported and provides complex care, the kind of increased support that is required to manage Mr. Syed’s risk. Consequently, this Board finds that a residency condition specifying his current address at Scott House is both necessary and appropriate under a Conditional Discharge Disposition to appropriately manage the risk. This Board notes that the evidence at the hearing indicated that Mr. Syed would in all likelihood remain at the highly supported Scott House for the remainder of the upcoming year. Should this situation change, the parties may request an early hearing from the Board.
Accordingly, this Board finds that the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a Conditional Discharge, on the following conditions:
reside at Scott House (Durham Mental Health Services) 58 Forest Road Ajax Ontario L1S 2N3.
report to the person in charge of the facility or his/her designate, not less than once per two weeks.
abstain absolutely from the non-medical use of alcohol or drugs or any other intoxicant.
submit samples of his urine and/or breath to the person in charge of the facility for the purpose of analyzing whether the accused has ingested alcohol, drugs or any other intoxicant (person in charge will be ordered to require the accused to submit samples of urine and/or breath).
refrain from having in his possession any firearm, ammunition or other offensive weapons, or being in the company of any person possessing a firearm other than a peace officer.
advise the person in charge or his designate, in advance, of any absence from his residence of 24 hours or more.
keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
on consent of the accused, he shall take medications as prescribed, pursuant to s.672.55(1) of the Criminal Code.
may, under 672.92(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, be delivered to Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences should the accused be arrested pursuant to section 672.91 of the Criminal Code for a breach or for an anticipated breach of terms of his Disposition.
- In reaching our decision, this Board has considered the safety of the public, Mr. Syed’s mental condition, his reintegration into society, and his other needs.
DATED this 26^th^ day of November 2025 at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. C. Flanagan
Alternate Chairperson
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board