Synagogue shooting was ‘premeditated,’ ‘targeted’ hate crime: Belleville police

Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd confirmed Thursday that the shooting outside a synagogue that left a police officer critically injured and the shooter deceased was a hate crime.

Chief Rodd addressed media at the Belleville police station saying the attack met the provincial policing standards’ definition of a hate-motivated attack.

“Make no mistake, this was a targeted attack against the Jewish community,” he said.

Sequence of events of synagogue shooting

On Sunday, while congregants were attending a service at the Sons of Jacob synagogue for Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community – a man armed with a shotgun opened fire on a police officer who was stationed outside.

Chief Rodd explained that the officer was there on regular duty and was not on paid-duty as was previously reported.

The shooter passed by the synagogue in his truck as “reconnaissance” and then “ambushed” the officer soon after “on the second pass.”

During the press conference, an eye-witness video was played for attending media in which the shooter can be heard saying “you are going to die for the Jews,” before gunshots rang out.

Chief Rodd said Const. Smith was shot even before he exited his vehicle. Despite already sustaining life-threatening injuries, he exited his cruiser and engaged the shooter.

“He was shot multiple times and stayed engaged,” said Rodd.

Approximately two minutes and 47 seconds after the gunfire began, a second officer, Const. Mike McCurdy, arrived on the scene and “immediately moved toward the danger.”

“Without hesitation, Const. McCurdy joined the active gun fight, helping to bring the violent attack to an end,” explained Chief Rodd.

“Together constable Smith and McCurdy confronted the active attacker and prevented what would have become an unimaginable tragedy… they are both heroes.”

The shooter was taken to hospital without vital signs, in life-threatening condition. He has been identified as Sean Ward, 29, from Quinte West, Ont.

The Canadian Armed Forces have identified him as a former soldier. He later died in hospital.

Const. Smith is in stable condition and continues to improve, but Rodd said he has a long and challenging recovery ahead.

Neither Const. McCurdy or anyone inside the synagogue was injured.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) invoked its mandate and continues to investigate.

No doubt of hate-motivated intent

While the investigation is ongoing, Chief Rodd said that police have “confirmation and corroboration” that the shooting was hate-motivated, “targeting specifically and only the Jewish community.”

“There is evidence that has been discovered that will corroborate the intent in more detail but it is too early to provide that,” he told reporters.

“This was an exclusive threat to our Jewish community. There is no indication that there was a threat to any other population or segment of our community and it was a hate-motivated crime.”

When asked whether the shooter was known to police, Chief Rodd said there was “nothing of any concern that would have telegraphed this kind of event.”

Reiterating that the shooter’s intent was to cause more damage, Chief Rodd revealed that along with the shot gun used in the shooting, he was equipped with other weapons and combustibles including gasoline were found in his truck.

Chief Rodd said “had the means to carry on a gun battle for a long period of time,” including a “significant amount of ammunition on his person and available to him.”

“He had the means, the mechanism, and the motive to perpetrate a greater act. The only thing that stopped entry to the synagogue to execute the intent were the two officers,” he said.

On Sept. 19, Durham Regional Police arrested a man for posting online threats to carry out a shooting at a synagogue in Durham Region. When asked if Const. Smith’s presence outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue was in response to that threat, Chief Rodd said that was “not part of the equation.”

“I would like to be clear that we have had, for an extended period of time and prior to my arrival here in 2024, a relationship with the Jewish community that involved our proactive prepositioning of on-duty staff to ensure the safety of the services and worship practices of the Jewish community whenever they considered it necessary or whenever there was an issue in the nation or the province of the world – we were there,” he said.

“So we have had an ongoing presence – on duty not paid duty – and we do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

Barb Enright Miller, Vice Chair of Belleville Police Services Board, said that the officers’ actions on the night of Sept. 20 were the definition of service, duty and courage.

“This is courage, this is service and this is something none of us should take for granted,” she said.

Chief Rodd and Miller both acknowledged the outpouring of support for Const. Smith and the Belleville Police Service and thanked the community for their messages of concern and comfort.

“This was a premeditated and targeted act of violence. Our community’s response has been one of unity, compassion and strength,” said Chief Rodd.

Calls for action against antisemitism

Speaking at the press conference, Ontario’s Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said a “line of decency” had been crossed in the province.

“As a proud, kippah-wearing jew, the first ever elected to any parliament in Canada, I take the events of the last few days to heart,” he said, visibly emotional.

He called on the government of Canada and all Canadians to stand up against antisemitism and condemn such acts of violence.

“It’s one thing to say ‘hate has no place here in our province and in our country,’ we already know that. We have to go further and faster. We have to have a clarion call that there must be consequences for people who behave in this manner that do not subscribe to the values of who we are,” he said.

“We have to suffocate hate, we have suffocate antisemitism. We have to understand that an attack on one is an attack on all.”

Along with thanking the police and the community, he also thanked the leadership from a nearby mosque who came to express their solidarity with a bouquet of flowers on Thursday morning.

In a statement, B’nai Brith Canada said the events of Sept. 20 “must be a wake-up call for Canada.”

“We have been warning for months that the escalation of antisemitic incidents and violence was creating an increasingly dangerous environment for Jewish Canadians. We warned that as attacks against Jewish people and institutions become normalized, it was only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed,” they said in the statement.

In addition, they asked for more security for the Jewish community as well as stringent enforcement of existing laws against hate speech, incitement and intimidation. They also called for the facilitation of arming guards at vulnerable institutions and places of worship.

“The Jewish community will not accept being left behind in the country we have helped build on common values with our neighbours for generations. We will no longer tolerate being abandoned and left to look over our shoulders on our streets and at our events or institutions. This threatening reality of life for Jewish Canadians in 2026, in fact for all Canadians, must end now,” they added.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also released a statement expressing solidarity with the Jewish community and denouncing the “disturbing and sickening” attack in Belleville.

She added that Toronto Police has an increased presence in Jewish communities for the High Holidays and “we will ensure that police have whatever resources they need.”

“The antisemitic attack on a Belleville synagogue is an attack on Jewish communities everywhere. It is an attack on everyone’s right to live together in peace. It is an attack on all of us. More than ever, we must remain united against emboldened antisemitism,” she said.