Police label shooting in Belleville, Ontario, a hate-motivated attack against the Jewish community

JTA – The shooter who opened fire on a Belleville, Ontario, synagogue on Yom Kippur committed an anti-Jewish hate-motivated offence, according to the city’s police chief. 

“This was a deliberate attack directed at members of the Jewish community during one of the holiest observances of the year,” Belleville police chief Murray Rodd said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that the shooter had combustible materials, including gasoline, in his truck. 

He said the threat posed to Jewish communities required increased alertness on the part of Canadian law enforcement. Police stationed outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue had engaged in a shootout with the assailant, Sean Ward, that prevented him from entering the building as members of the congregation were about to begin Yom Kippur services. 

Rodd said that the force had a long-time relationship with the Jewish community that involved “our proactive pre-positioning of on-duty staff” to ensure the safety of Jewish worshippers. “One of the messages to my colleagues around the province and the country is: It is clearly time that we all be proactive.” 

Rodd said the efforts of Constables Jeff Smith and Michael McCurdy prevented the attacker from using the explosive materials he had with him, as well as a “significant” amount of ammunition. 

Smith, who was stationed outside Sons of Jacob to provide security, remains in critical condition but is making progress, according to Rodd. 

Ward later died of his wounds from the exchange with police. 

“[The shooter] had the means, the mechanism, and the motive to perpetrate a greater act. The only thing that stopped entry into the synagogue to execute the intent were the two officers,” said Rodd. “He was equipped with other weapons and the means to carry on a gun battle for a long period of time.” 

The CBC reported that police obtained a video of the attack in Belleville, a town more than 160km east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario. In the video, Ward is heard shouting. Police report he is saying, “You are going to die for the Jews.” 

Rodd confirmed that before Ward targeted the Sons of Jacob, he had scoped out the synagogue grounds. “We know that there was a reconnaissance in the presence of our officer, but nothing that would have alarmed him or would have triggered him to be on the defensive,” Rodd said. 

Ward was a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces, Rodd said. 

“He was shot multiple times in multiple places,” Rodd said.