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A Belleville police officer was shot and critically wounded outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue on Sunday evening, as members of the congregation arrived to mark Yom Kippur. CBS News reported that the officer encountered a man near the building at about 7:10 p.m. and that the two exchanged gunfire. Both were taken to hospital. No one inside the synagogue was hurt.
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit said the shooting happened near the synagogue at Victoria and Bleecker avenues, in a residential part of a city about 110 miles east of Toronto. In a statement issued Monday morning, the SIU said gunfire erupted involving a 29-year-old man armed with a rifle. The officer was listed in critical but stable condition. The man's injuries were described as life-threatening. The SIU is the civilian agency that investigates serious incidents involving police in Ontario, so its file covers the police response rather than the attack itself.
The synagogue's president, Norman Weddum, said he was ushering people into the sanctuary when the shooting started. He said the congregation ran back inside and shut the doors behind them "so as to not leave a visible target," then got down on the floor.
Police have not said what led to the shooting, or whether the synagogue and the Jewish community were the intended target. They said there was no risk to public safety and asked people to stay away from the area while officers worked. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was disgusted by the shooting and called for those responsible to be prosecuted. York Regional Police said there was no known threat in its area but told residents to expect increased patrols at places of worship.
The officer had been posted outside the building during services. That posture has become routine at Canadian synagogues after a run of attacks. In March, gunfire damaged the entrances of synagogues in Vaughan and Toronto, and police later arrested three people. Prime Minister Mark Carney warned earlier this year that Canada was failing its Jewish community, citing shootings at Jewish schools, firebombings of synagogues and attacks on community centers and Jewish-owned businesses. His government announced additional funding to help faith-based institutions pay for security infrastructure, training and personnel.
The pattern runs across the border as well. Temple Israel, outside Detroit, reopened earlier this month for the High Holidays, six months after a 41-year-old man drove a truck packed with fireworks and gasoline into the building on March 12. The FBI called that attack a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.
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