Ontario synagogue shooting on Yom Kippur leaves Belleville officer critically hurt
A 29-year-old man opened fire on a police officer outside a synagogue in Ontario during Yom Kippur, leading to a shootout in which as many as 30 shots were fired, the province's police watchdog said on Monday. The man suffered life-threatening injuries, while the officer, a veteran of nearly 13 years with the Belleville Police Service, was seriously wounded and was recovering in intensive care.
The Special Investigations Unit said the shooting took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, about 110 miles east of Toronto, at around 7 pm on Sunday. Police have not established a motive or said whether the synagogue or the Jewish community was targeted, but officers have increased patrols around places of worship and said there was no ongoing threat to public safety.
According to the SIU, preliminary evidence showed the man arrived in a truck and fired at an officer stationed outside the synagogue. The officer returned fire before a second officer arrived and also fired. SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said investigators estimated that 20 to 30 shots were fired and found dozens of bullet holes along the street, with homes and vehicles struck and some vehicle windows shot out. "It would have been quite, quite the scene indeed," Denette said, adding that the scene appeared to stretch about half a block from the synagogue.
The SIU is investigating the actions of the officers, while Belleville police are carrying out a parallel criminal investigation into the man's actions and possible motive. Authorities said they were still trying to establish the exact sequence of events and were collecting body-camera and police vehicle footage, surveillance video and witness accounts.
Deputy Police Chief Sheri Meeks said the wounded officer's condition had stabilised but that he faced a significant road to recovery. She said the officer joined the Belleville Police Service in December 2013 and is a longtime member of its Emergency Response Unit. "We remain hopeful and encouraged by this progress," she said.
Meeks also acknowledged the impact of the shooting on Belleville's Jewish community, particularly because it happened outside the synagogue during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. "Antisemitism, hate and violence have no place in our community," Meeks said. "Every person deserves to feel safe when attending a place of worship."
Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis said it was too soon to say whether the shooting was a hate crime, but added that "the circumstances are where it happened, when it happened" and that it "points towards that." He said, "We have a tight-knit Jewish community. We don't tolerate this in our city or across the country. Everyone has the right to feel safe."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the shooting in a social media post, saying, "Jewish people must be able to worship safely" and "live free, open, proud Jewish lives." He said the federal government would support law enforcement in ensuring the perpetrator is held accountable. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also condemned the shooting, saying Jewish people "have every right to gather and worship safely and without fear".
The shooting came months after Carney warned that Canada was failing its Jewish community amid a surge in antisemitism, citing shootings at Jewish schools, firebombings of synagogues and attacks on community centres and Jewish-owned businesses. In March, shots damaged the entrances of synagogues in Vaughan and Toronto. No one was injured, and police later arrested three suspects. As investigators continue to piece together the Belleville shooting, authorities are examining both the exchange of gunfire and the possible motive behind the attack outside the synagogue.
