Belleville, Ont., synagogue shooting was a hate-motivated attack, police say

BELLEVILLE – The shooter who targeted a Belleville, Ont., synagogue shouted “you’re going to die for the Jews” before he opened fire on a police officer outside, the police chief said, describing Sunday’s attack as a thwarted mass killing of Jewish worshippers. 

Chief Murray Rodd said the shooter had multiple guns, significant amounts of ammunition, gasoline and the motive to carry out an extended attack at the Sons of Jacob synagogue as people gathered inside to observe Yom Kippur.

“This was a deliberate attack directed at members of the Jewish community during one of the holiest observances of the year,” Rodd said at a Thursday news conference, the first comments made by police about the shooter’s motive.

“The only thing that stopped entry into the synagogue to execute the intent were the two officers,” Rodd said. “The loss of life and irreversible damage that could have … rippled through our community for generations cannot be overstated.” 

The shooter ambushed Const. Jeff Smith, who was stationed outside the synagogue, and the officer was shot before he had the chance to leave his vehicle, Rodd said. Police also played a video that captured what the shooter yelled before he opened fire. 

Smith suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body but “stayed engaged” with the attacker, the police chief said. About three minutes later, a second police officer, Const. Michael McCurdy, arrived and joined what Rodd described as an “active gunfight.” 

The pair “prevented what would have become an unimaginable tragedy,” Rodd said. 

No one inside the synagogue was injured. Smith is expected to undergo multiple surgeries to treat his gunshot wounds, police said.

The shooter, 29-year-old Sean Ward, was fatally injured and died in hospital the next day. 

The Canadian Armed Forces have said that Ward was a former soldier who served for about five years before he was released from the military at the rank of corporal in 2022. 

Norm Weddum, president of the Sons of Jacob synagogue, said he was glad police have publicly deemed the shooting a hate crime targeting the Jewish congregation.

“Obviously that’s what we were calling it from Day 1 anyway,” he told reporters on Thursday. “There’s no question (the shooter) had the means to eliminate all of us in the synagogue and then probably to destroy the synagogue as well.”

Rodd suggested more details about the shooter’s motive could soon be released as investigators continue to search Ward’s electronic devices and computers.

“There is evidence that has been discovered that will corroborate the intent in more detail and it’s too early for us to provide that,” Rodd said.

Police mostly deflected questions about Ward and how he may have been radicalized.

Citing anonymous military and national defence sources, the Globe and Mail and Global News both reported that Ward was released from the army after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. One of the sources told Global News that Ward also voiced antisemitic conspiracies.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press suggest he had joined a lawsuit against the Canadian Armed Forces’ vaccination mandate, claiming $140,000 in financial losses after he refused the vaccine “on religious grounds” and was released from service. In its statement of defence, the government argued that the lawsuit should be thrown out and that vaccinating against COVID-19 was a safe and appropriate response to the pandemic.

Sunday’s attack has underscored fears among Canada’s Jewish community about the rise in antisemitism and a string of violent incidents. Jewish groups have called for immediate government action to boost armed security and police presence at synagogues and Jewish institutions. 

Ontario’s solicitor general, Michael Kerzner, denounced the shooting as a “hateful and antisemitic attack” and said it was lucky that no lives were lost at the synagogue.

Simon Wolle, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, said the Jewish organization has been raising alarm about growing threats for a long time. 

“We’ve talked about how we can’t ignore words. We talked about how we can’t ignore threats. We talked about how we can’t ignore vandalism,” he said Thursday. “We warned that each of those things will lead to bullets.”

Weddum said the Sons of Jacob synagogue plans to reopen “very soon, and we’ll be stronger and better,” even as he expects returning to the building will be difficult for some.

“This person is not going to deter us or stop us from doing what we do,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2026.

–With files from Jordan Omstead