BELLEVILLE, Ontario (AP) — A 29-year-old man opened fire on a police officer stationed outside an Ontario synagogue during Yom Kippur, triggering a shootout involving as many as 30 shots, the province’s police watchdog said Monday.
The gunfire left the man with life-threatening injuries and seriously wounded a veteran of nearly 13 years with the Belleville Police Service who was recovering in intensive care.
The Special Investigations Unit said preliminary evidence showed the man arrived in a truck around 7 p.m. on Sunday and fired at an officer outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, about 110 miles east of Toronto. The officer returned fire before a second officer arrived and also fired.
SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette estimated that 20 to 30 shots were fired and said investigators 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,” said Denette.
She said the scene appeared to stretch about half a block from the synagogue.
Police have not established a motive or said whether the Sons of Jacob Synagogue or the Jewish community was targeted. The SIU is investigating the actions of the officers, while Belleville police are conducting a parallel criminal investigation that will examine the man’s actions and possible motive.
Authorities said investigators 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 stabilized but that he faced a significant road to recovery.
The officer joined the Belleville Police Service in December 2013 and is a longtime member of its Emergency Response Unit, Meeks said.
“We remain hopeful and encouraged by this progress,” she said.
Meeks acknowledged the shooting’s impact 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.”
Police increased patrols and their presence around places of worship but said there was no ongoing threat to public safety.
Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis said it was too soon to say whether the shooting was a hate crime but said “the circumstances are where it happened, when it happened” and that it “points towards that.”
“We have a tight-knit Jewish community. We don’t tolerate this in our city or across the country,” Ellis said. “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 comes months after Carney warned that Canada was failing its Jewish community amid a surge in antisemitism. Carney cited shootings at Jewish schools, firebombings of synagogues and attacks on community centers and Jewish-owned businesses.
Synagogues in the Toronto area have previously been targeted by gunfire. In March, shots damaged the entrances of synagogues in Vaughan and Toronto. No one was injured, and police later arrested three suspects.
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