Belleville synagogue shooter had means to carry out 'mass casualty' event: police chief

Belleville synagogue shooter had means to carry out 'mass casualty' event: police chief

Gunman thwarted by 2 officers was specifically targeting Jewish community, police say

The Belleville Police Service says the man who ambushed and seriously wounded an officer near a local synagogue Sunday had the means and motive to carry out a "mass casualty" event and was specifically targeting members of the city's Jewish community.

"The loss of life and irreversible damage that could have rippled through our community for generations cannot be overstated," Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd said at a news conference Thursday, repeatedly emphasizing that the incident was "a hate-motivated crime."

Const. Jeff Smith confronted the gunman despite having been wounded in his vehicle, while another officer joined the fray and put his own life at risk, too, Rodd said.

"The only thing that stopped entry into the synagogue to execute the intent were the two officers," the police chief said in the most detailed account yet of Sunday's shocking shootout.

Just after 7 p.m., as a Yom Kippur service was getting underway inside Sons of Jacob Synagogue, located in a residential part of Belleville, shots erupted outside.

Rodd said Smith was parked outside the synagogue as part of his regularly assigned duties when he was ambushed by the gunman, and "that's when the shooting started."

Belleville Police played a short video clip showing part of the shootout. In it, Smith and the shooter are each crouched by vehicles as gunfire is heard.

Someone can be heard shouting at one point, but it's difficult to make out what was said. According to the police service, the gunman was shouting, "You are going to die for the Jews."

Rodd said Smith was shot several times in the head and body and will need to undergo multiple surgeries related to serious head trauma.

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"We are pleased to share that [he] continues to make positive progress in his recovery," the police chief said. "While he faces a long road ahead, his determination [and] resilience … continues to inspire all of us."

After Smith was wounded, Rodd said he was alone on the scene for nearly three minutes before a second Belleville police officer, Const. Michael McCurdy, arrived and "immediately moved toward the danger."

The gunman was identified by investigators earlier this week as 29-year-old Sean Ward of the neighbouring city of Quinte West. They said he was wounded in the shootout and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

On Tuesday, Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the civilian agency that investigates police conduct during officer-involved shootings and other serious incidents, reported that Ward had died in hospital on Monday night.

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According to Rodd, the shooter used a shotgun but had "other resources" available, including "a significant amount of ammunition on his person and available to him."

Rodd noted that the shooter also had "combustible" materials in his vehicle.

One of the synagogue's street-facing windows was pierced by several bullets.

"It's … terrifying really how close we came to such a massacre," Doug Lobel, a Sons of Jacob member who was inside the synagogue during the shooting, told CBC News Network Thursday.

Members of Ontario's Jewish community on Thursday said they were appreciative that Belleville Police declared Sunday's incident a hate-motivated crime against Jews, but warned that it was only the latest in a series of such attacks — and that more needs to be done to prevent them.

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"We need police services to be there, to be at our institutions, to be at our synagogues, and they have done really a great job to this point," said Steven Shulman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of Canada.

"But much more now is needed. It's very clear the threat that's there."

Synagogue shooting a ‘hate-motivated crime’: Belleville police

With files from Michelle Song and Alistair Steele