WARMINGTON: Belleville Police set to address synagogue shooting case today
· Toronto Sun
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Belleville is bracing for what is expected to be a shocking news conference with Belleville Police’s chief today, in which details of what is emerging as a planned antisemitic ambush attempt on a synagogue that offered warning signs in advance.
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Chief Murray Rodd is set to deliver his remarks on this terrifying incident at sundown on Yom Kippur at Belleville Police headquarters at 2 p.m.
Toronto Sun writers Gord Anderson, Warren Kinsella and Joe Warmington, and photographer Ernest Doroszuk will be monitoring this news conference and will report the findings on the Toronto Sun website.
The first question he will be asked stems from a CBC story posted this morning of an interview with a friend of now-deceased gunman Sean Ward who said the 29-year-old told him he tried to sign in on an online slaying video game as a “Kikekiller” but changed it to “Kitekiller” when it wasn’t accepted.
The friend said he used this highly offensive and denigrating slur against Jewish people while playing the game Once Human on Sept. 2 – just weeks before the Sept. 20 attack that saw Belleville Const. Jeff Smith take gunshot wounds from a sawed-off shotgun Ward had brought to the Sons of Jacob Synagogue at 7 p.m.
Smith’s wife, Ashley, has described her “strong” husband as on a “long road” to recovery but is on the right path and has tremendous support, including much help coming from the public in donations on GoFundMe , which have now reached more than $516,000.
Ward left army over vaccination dispute
The former Canadian Armed Forces soldier, who friends say left the military in 2022 in a dispute over not wanting to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, died in hospital on Wednesday.
The SIU is investigating the police shooting, in which it is believed that Smith and another unnamed Belleville officer shot Ward outside the synagogue, which, like the police car and another car, also had bullet holes in its stained-glass window and on its outer brick wall.
Police have been undertaking a search warrant at Ward’s home along Highway 2 between Trenton and Belleville, where neighbours say he lived with his mother.
Belleville Police have been transparent in this case
Time will tell if the chief will reveal details of what has been discovered in this search of the property and of his electronic devices, but since the beginning of this disgraceful terror incident, Belleville Police have been extremely forthright and transparent.
At this first news conference Monday – alongside SIU media spokesperson Kristy Denette – Belleville’s Deputy Chief Sheri Meeks provided both the name of the shot officer, Smith and of the suspect, Ward.
There are other questions expected at this news conference, which include how many rounds were fired by both the suspect and police and whether there is any connection between this shooter and the 19-year-old arrested the Friday before Yom Kippur by Durham Regional Police and charged for allegedly threatening a similar planned attack on a synagogue in that region.
“Friday, September 18, 2026, members of the Hate Crime Unit received information from an external law enforcement partner regarding threats posted on an online message board to carry out a shooting at a synagogue in Durham Region,” said a news release. “Further investigation identified the user responsible for the messages, and on Saturday, September 19, 2026, a search warrant was executed at a residence in Whitby. The male was located in the residence and taken into custody without incident. Alexander Parfitt, 19, of Whitby, is charged with threats motivated by hate and “was held for a bail hearing.”
The charges have not been tested in court. But police will be asked if he had any connection to Ward.
And with Ward’s friend telling the CBC that he told his friend to not do anything crazy, the chief will also be asked if police anywhere were aware, or were notified previously to the shooting, about what Ward’s friend described as concerning anti-Jewish rhetoric? Were there previous encounters with police on this, like what happened in Durham, or did Ward fly under the radar?
All eyes have been on Belleville this week, and that will continue today.