WARMINGTON: Belleville synagogue shooting was 'antisemitic attack,' says Ontario's top cop

· Toronto Sun

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BELLEVILLE — Ontario’s Solicitor General has ended all speculation about the motive in the shooting attack on a Synagogue here.

This was a terror attack against Jews. Other speculation and theories floated that perhaps it could have been an attack on the officer who happened to be at the synagogue have been ruled out, said Ontario’s top cop.

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“This was a massacre in the making,” said Michael Kerzner at the scene of the horrific Yom Kippur shooting incident Sunday night in Belleville. “This was an antisemitic attack. It was planned.”

And if not for the heroic efforts of a Belleville Police officer who was shot but still managed to shoot the alleged armed attacker, he said, it could have been something along the lines of what the world saw with the Hannukah attack in Australia.

It was that close.

As the Special Investigations Unit surveys the wild scene that includes up to 30 gunshots, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs CEO Noah Shack made the point that this incident is a reminder that Ontario is “one misstep away from a Bondi Beach (style attack).”

Kerzner agreed.

It didn’t happen through divine intervention that we have the officer here,” said Kerzner.

Wounded officer a ‘hero’

Const. Jeff Smith remains in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the face and upper body, but amongst people here is now a legendary figure.

‘He is a hero,” said Son of Jacob Synagogue congregation president Norm Weddum. “And so is the responding officer.”

Without them, who knows how many dead there would have been inside.

“I am quite sure the shooter would have come inside and killed us all,” said Mike Devolin, who was doing security for his congregation.

He praised the officers’ bravery.

“We would have been in trouble without them,” he said.

Both officers fired shots at the suspect, Sean Ward, who has reportedly died of his injuries in hospital on Tuesday.

Police have not commented on the investigation, but Weddum said he has been told there is a lot of focus on the suspect’s silver pickup truck with Alberta licence plates still parked on the sidewalk across the street.

Motive still a mystery

Several sources say ammunition inside the truck is part of the probe. Police are working on a search warrant for the truck and his home, which is in Quite West and under police guard.

While the shooter’s motive remains a mystery, there is no mystery that he started his shooting toward the officer protecting the 20 more congregants inside the synagogue for the 7 p.m. sunset service.

“The first person he went for was the police officer,” said Weddum. “We heard the loud booms inside.”

He said an “all-out gunfight” ensued and people inside hit the floor.

Late in the incident, Weddum said, “We saw the shots come through the stained-glass window and landed in the wall.”

He added: “It seemed to go on forever, but it was just for a few seconds.”

Neither police nor the SIU have confirmed how many shots were fired, but Weddum said between 20 and 30 would not surprise him.

He said memorial lighting was also shot up.

“Eventually the shooting stopped,” he said.

When he went outside, he saw the Belleville officer being treated on the ground and the alleged shooter being loaded into an ambulance.

“We were all shook up,” said Weddum. “Many people still are.”

But he said, when this crime and terror scene is all cleaned up, they will open those doors for prayer again.

This synagogue has been serving the Jewish community in Belleville for 125 years.

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