Video – Photo Gallery – “Massacre In the Making: Suspect Dead After Gun Battle Outside Belleville Synagogue

Pete Fisher
2 hours ago
• Categories: Editorial, Local, Photo Gallery, Police Blotter

(President of Sons of Jacob Synagogue, Norm Weddum looks through a bullet hole in a stained glass window of the Synagogue)

What could have become a massacre inside a Belleville synagogue was stopped by a police officer who exchanged gunfire with a shotgun-wielding man outside the building as worshippers gathered for Yom Kippur.

The 29-year-old man identified by Belleville Police as Sean Ward of Quinte West died in hospital Monday night, one day after the shooting outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue near Victoria and Bleecker avenues.

A post-mortem examination is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, in Kingston.

Belleville Const. Jeff Smith, a 13-year veteran of the police service, remains in hospital in critical but stable condition.

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit is investigating the exchange of gunfire involving Smith and a second Belleville officer.

Preliminary information released by investigators indicates that at approximately 7 p.m. on September 20, Ward arrived in the area in a truck armed with a shotgun.

Shortly after, there was an exchange of gunfire between Ward and Smith.

A second officer arrived quickly and subsequently also discharged a firearm.

Both Ward and Smith were struck by gunfire and transported to hospital.

The SIU has assigned four investigators and three forensic investigators to the case. Investigators have been examining the scene, including bullet impacts to nearby homes and vehicles. Authorities have said approximately 20 to 30 rounds may have been fired.

The shooting happened as members of the Jewish community were gathering for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

There were approximately two dozen people inside the synagogue.

None of the worshippers inside were physically injured.

But synagogue president Norm Weddum said the intention of the gunman appeared clear.

“All in the name of hate.”

Weddum said the shooter appeared to have a mission to hurt or kill people inside the synagogue.

“His mission was to hurt or kill or maim as many people as he could and they were Jewish people, not people randomly selected off the street.”

Weddum described the incident as terrorism and said the government must take a stronger position against antisemitism.

“Hopefully, this is the one that will convince them that something has to be done fast.”

“THIS WAS A MASSACRE IN THE MAKING”

Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner was in Belleville Tuesday and described the shooting in stark terms.

“This was a massacre in the making.”

Kerzner said the outcome could have been dramatically different had the police officer not been at the synagogue.

“It didn’t happen because through divine intervention, we had the officer here.”

Kerzner said investigators must determine the suspect’s motivation and whether radicalization played a role.

“We have to let Belleville Police Service do their investigation and determine the motivation and determine if there was radicalization or what caused an individual on the holiest night of the year in the Jewish calendar to act in an anti-Semitic way that could have ended in a massacre right here in beautiful Belleville.”

Kerzner also called it an antisemitic attack.

“You don’t go to a synagogue at any time let alone on Yom Kippur. This was an anti-Semitic attack.”

He said the response cannot simply be limited to legislation.

“We can’t wait just for legislation. We can’t wait just for regulations. We have to change the attitude of belonging, of being part of a great country.”

ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL: “THIS IS A TERRIBLE AND HORRIBLE ANTI-SEMITIC CRIME”

Nadav Zysblat, Consul General of Israel, came to Belleville to support the Jewish community and thank the Belleville Police Service for its response.

Zysblat described what happened outside the synagogue as an antisemitic crime.

“This is a terrible and horrible anti-Semitic crime that was persecuted against the Jewish community here in Belleville.”

His first priority, he said, was supporting the community and recognizing the actions of police officers who confronted the gunman.

“I came first and foremost to say thank you to the Belleville police and to hug the community. This is the most important thing.”

Zysblat singled out Const. Jeff Smith, who remains in hospital.

“I think we are all praying for Constable Smith who’s a true hero.”

He said the shooting demonstrated the continuing danger posed by antisemitism and emphasized that such violence is not restricted to major urban centres.

“Hate has no place in Canada.”

Zysblat said the incident should be a warning to communities across the country.

Asked whether an incident like this could happen in a smaller community rather than a major city, he was unequivocal.

“Absolutely. I mean, that’s exactly why we’ve been saying again and again that hate has no place in Canada.”

He said the country needs to pay attention not only to what happened in Belleville, but also to the language and rhetoric that can contribute to violence.

“It’s also important to say and to see why words matter.”

Zysblat said people can sometimes be influenced by hateful rhetoric.

“People can take inspiration sometimes from horrible words that are being said and uttered.”

He said the Belleville shooting must be understood for what it was.

“We’ve seen here a terrible hate crime, anti-Semitic hate crime. It’s important to name what happened here.”

And he said the response must go beyond expressions of sympathy.

“It’s important to learn from what happened here. It’s important to act to make sure that such a thing will never happen again in any place in Canada nor in the world.”

“THE ALARM IS SOUNDING”

Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said the shooting represents another escalation in attacks and threats against Jewish communities in Canada.

“We’ve seen over the last number of years escalating incidents of hate targeting Jewish communities across Canada from harassment and intimidation to assaults, firebombings, shootings, and now this latest incident which takes it to a whole other level.”

Shack said a gunman approaching a synagogue while worshippers were inside on Yom Kippur could have produced a much greater loss of life.

“But for the bravery of Belleville police intercepting the assailant, this would have been a far greater tragedy that we would be talking about today.”

He said the shooting should be treated as a warning about the potential for extremist violence.

“The alarm is sounding.”

Shack said Jewish institutions require protection, but he also called for efforts to address radicalization.

“We need to get at the root of this violence, this hate that’s targeting Jewish communities across this country and the very fabric of our society as Canadians.”

He said the threat is not confined to one community or one form of radicalization.

“The threat targeting Canada’s Jewish communities is multifaceted.”

Shack also pointed to the fact that the shooting happened in Belleville rather than a major Canadian city.

“It could be anywhere in Canada. It happened to be here in Belleville.”

He said Canadians cannot assume this type of violence will only happen somewhere else.

“This is a threat that goes well beyond my community and my family.”

WHO WAS SEAN WARD?

Ward was a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who lived with his mother in Quinte West.

The military has confirmed that he joined in July 2017 and was released in June 2022 at the rank of corporal.

He served as an infantry soldier with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and did not deploy during his military service.

Ward was released after refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The Canadian Armed Forces has confirmed Ward’s service information but has said it cannot comment on the circumstances of his release because of privacy restrictions.

One person who knew Ward told Today’s Northumberland that Ward left the military because he did not want to be vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The person described Ward as someone who did not drink alcohol, did not smoke and did not even drink pop.

“I heard there was a shooting and when I heard the name I thought that can’t be.”

The acquaintance said Ward was a hunter and owned a dog, but said they had never heard anyone say anything bad about him.

The person also said they had never witnessed anything about Ward that caused concern and never heard him make derogatory comments against individuals, including Jewish people.

Ward had been living with his mother after returning from Alberta, where he had been stationed during his military career.

WITNESS HEARD DOZENS OF SHOTS

Belleville resident Darren Millar was at home Sunday night when he heard the gunfire.

“I heard three loud bangs. I thought it was an explosion at first and then I heard pop pop pop pop pop pop pop and then three or four more loud bangs and then more pop pop pop pop pops went on for a good minute.”

Millar estimated he heard approximately 30 to 40 shots.

He then got into his vehicle and drove toward the scene, capturing the aftermath just seconds after the shooting had stopped.

“Just a foolish thing to do to drive into the scene but I did.”

Millar said he saw Ward lying on the roadway after the exchange of gunfire.

Ward was transported to hospital and later died from his injuries.

INSIDE THE SYNAGOGUE

Weddum said returning to the synagogue after the shooting was an emotional experience.

“It was kind of different and when I first stepped in and of course I had to go up and look at the bullet holes in the windows.”

But he said the congregation now wants to return to normal.

“Now it’s like let’s get things back to normal.”

The bullet holes remain visible in the synagogue windows — a physical reminder of what happened outside while people were preparing to worship.

Weddum said the incident has fundamentally changed how the congregation looks at security.

“How do you change the mindset of every individual?”

He said changing that mindset will not happen overnight, but governments must take stronger action against antisemitism.

“It’s creating a whole new mindset.”

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

The death of Ward does not end the investigation.

The SIU continues to examine the actions of the two Belleville police officers involved in the exchange of gunfire, while Belleville Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting and Ward’s motivation.

Authorities have not publicly established whether Ward specifically intended to attack the synagogue, although the timing, location and circumstances have prompted strong statements from synagogue officials, Jewish community leaders and political officials.

SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said Monday that, when asked whether the incident could potentially be viewed as an attack on the Jewish community, “common sense” suggested that was possible, while emphasizing that the SIU’s investigation is focused on the police-involved shooting.

For the people who were inside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue Sunday night, the distinction may matter less than what nearly happened.

A shotgun was fired outside their place of worship as they gathered for one of the most important days of the Jewish calendar.

Const. Jeff Smith was critically wounded.

The gunman is dead.

And the words of Israel’s Consul General, Nadav Zysblat, remain hanging over Belleville:

“It’s important to name what happened here.”

For a community that had gathered to worship on Yom Kippur, the question now is how close Belleville came to something far worse.