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An ex-Canadian soldier opened fire outside a synagogue during Yom Kippur services and struck a cop before being gunned down by police in a possible antisemitic attack, officials said.
Shotgun-toting Sean Ward, 29, pulled up in his truck and ripped off shots at two cops stationed outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, around 7 p.m. Sunday, according to the CBC.
Ward struck Constable Jeff Smith, who was working security outside the synagogue along with another cop. The two officers returned fire and hit Ward, who died of his injuries Monday night.
Smith remained in critical but stable condition as of Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear if Ward was targeting the synagogue — located about 110 miles east of Toronto — or law enforcement.
Investigators, however, noted that the timing of the shooting on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, suggests the attack may have been motivated by antisemitism.
None of the roughly two dozen congregants inside were injured, but bullets peppered surrounding homes, vehicles and the synagogue’s windows.
“There are dozens of bullet holes in the street behind me and some homes have been hit and there are some vehicles with shot out windows, that sort of thing. So it would have been quite the scene,” Belleville Deputy Police Chief Sheri Meeks said.
Worshipers said they immediately realized gunfire was erupting outside and ducked for cover during the intense exchange of about 25 shots, which lasted mere moments.
“I could say, ‘Oh, this is definitely … someone is shooting here,'” Norm Weddum, the leader of Sons of Jacob, who was in attendance for the service, told CBC. “So that’s when we ran back into the auditorium of the synagogue, closed the doors behind us so as to not leave a visible target and we hit the floor.
“Literally everyone went down. I yelled for everyone to get on to the floor and the shots continued for a few more seconds, and then it was basically over.”
Sons of Jacob always requests extra security on Jewish High Holidays due to threat concerns, Weddum noted.
“Thank God that person was there,” he said referring to Smith.
Authorities are probing a motive in the shooting.
“It’s believed that [Ward] came in a truck and he had a shotgun and he discharged his firearm at a police officer and then that police officer returned fire and then there was a second officer who arrived and then also discharged [their] firearm,” Kristy Denette, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, told reporters.
Ward joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 2017 and served as an infantry soldier before leaving in 2022 as a corporal.
Meeks said antisemitism has “no place” in Belleville — and announced a heightened police presence across the city.
“Let me be very clear: Antisemitism, hate and violence have no place in our community,” she said.
“Every person deserves to feel safe when attending a place of worship, gathering with loved ones, or participating in community life.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis all condemned the attack.
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