On September 20, 2026, a shooting and a subsequent shootout occurred outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The perpetrator, 29-year-old Sean Ward, was fatally shot, while a police officer protecting the synagogue was seriously injured.

Authorities said that Ward was targeting members of Belleville's Jewish community. Ward had previously expressed antisemitic and anti-immigrant beliefs, as well as conspiracy theories about COVID-19.

Background Belleville is a small city approximately east of Toronto and west of Kingston, Ontario. The Sons of Jacob Synagogue is a small synagogue with about 35 families as members, lacking a full-time rabbi, and the only one in or around Belleville.

Shooting According to investigators, as worshippers were arriving for Erev Yom Kippur services at around 7:00 to 7:10pm, a lone gunman fired at a police officer who was providing security to the synagogue. The officer, later identified as Constable Jeff Smith of the Belleville Police Service, was shot several times in the head and body. Smith was wounded before exiting his vehicle, but he confronted the attacker alone for around three minutes. At that time, a second officer responded to the scene and joined the gunfight. Up to 30 rounds were fired during the incident. Approximately 25 people were inside the synagogue during the shootout. Congregants sheltered on the floor of the synagogue while bullets penetrated the synagogue's stained-glass windows and struck the walls of its sanctuary. Nearby homes and vehicles were also struck.

The perpetrator, Sean Ward, sustained life-threatening injuries. He was armed with a shotgun, carried "a significant amount of ammunition on his person," and "also had 'combustible' materials in his vehicle." Ward died in hospital on September 21. According to authorities, Ward had the means and motive to commit a "mass casualty" event, and the incident was "a hate-motivated crime" in which members of Belleville's Jewish community were targeted. According to the Belleville Police Service, Ward shouted, "You are going to die for the Jews" during the attack. Police also said the perpetrator had multiple weapons, a significant amount of ammunition, and gasoline available to him.

Perpetrator The perpetrator was identified as 29-year-old Sean Ward, a resident of neighbouring Quinte West. He had served in the Canadian Armed Forces from 2017 to 2022 and was discharged due to refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Ward had refused the vaccine on religious grounds and joined a lawsuit challenging the Canadian military's vaccine mandate. He had reportedly expressed conspiracy theories about COVID-19, including "blaming Jews for COVID-19".

According to one of his childhood friends, Ward had used the word "kike", an ethnic slur for Jews, in conversations. He also attempted to choose the username "kikekiller" while playing an online video game 18 days before the attack; the slur was censored, and he settled on "kitekiller" instead. Earlier in September, Ward told this friend that he was "depressed" and expressed anti-immigrant sentiment, blaming immigrants for his inability to find work.

Reactions The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, condemned the shooting and expressed support for the wounded officer and other first responders, as did the prime minister, Mark Carney, and the leader of the Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre.

See also Terrorism in Canada Antisemitism in Canada

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