BELLEVILLE, Ontario — A 29-year-old man armed with a shotgun opened fire on a police officer stationed outside an Ontario synagogue during Yom Kippur, triggering a shootout involving as many as 30 shots, the province’s police watchdog said Monday.
The gunfire left the man with life-threatening injuries and seriously wounded a veteran of the Belleville Police Service, whose condition had stabilized as he recovered in intensive care.
Kristy Denette, a spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit, said nearby vehicles and homes were riddled with bullet holes. There was no forensic confirmation Monday as to whether the synagogue itself was hit.
Denette said the scene appeared to stretch about half a block from the Sons of Jacob Synagogue.
“It would have been quite, quite the scene indeed,” Denette said.
The Special Investigations Unit said preliminary evidence showed the man arrived in a truck about 7 p.m. on Sunday and fired at an officer outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, about 110 miles east of Toronto. The officer returned fire before a second officer arrived and also fired.
Belleville police Deputy Chief Sheri Meeks identified the alleged shooter as Sean Ward, of the nearby city of Quinte West, and the officer as Const. Jeff Smith, a 13-year veteran of the force.
About two dozen people were inside the synagogue when gunfire erupted. One of them, Douglas Lobel, said it lasted two or three minutes and “seemed like an eternity.”
Lobel said a police officer eventually entered the synagogue and asked whether anyone had been hurt. No one inside was injured. “This officer was a hero who saved our lives,” Lobel said. “If this officer wasn’t there, I don’t know what could have happened.”
Police have not established a motive or said whether the Sons of Jacob Synagogue or the Jewish community was targeted. The SIU is investigating the actions of the officers, while Belleville police are conducting a parallel criminal investigation that will examine the man’s actions and possible motive.
Meeks said the wounded officer faced “a significant road to recovery.”
Meeks acknowledged the shooting’s impact on Belleville’s Jewish community, particularly because it happened outside the synagogue during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
“Antisemitism, hate and violence have no place in our community,” Meeks said. “Every person deserves to feel safe when attending a place of worship.”
The synagogue canceled its remaining Yom Kippur services following the shooting.
Police increased patrols and their presence around places of worship but said there was no ongoing threat to public safety.
Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis said it was too soon to say whether the shooting was a hate crime but said “the circumstances are where it happened, when it happened” and that it “points towards that.”
“We have a tight-knit Jewish community. We don’t tolerate this in our city or across the country,” Ellis said. “Everyone has the right to feel safe.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the shooting in a social media post, saying, “Jewish people must be able to worship safely” and “live free, open, proud Jewish lives.” He said the federal government would support law enforcement in ensuring the perpetrator is held accountable.
The shooting comes months after Carney warned that Canada was failing its Jewish community amid a surge in antisemitism. Carney cited shootings at Jewish schools, firebombings of synagogues and attacks on community centers and Jewish-owned businesses.
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