Suspected gunman Sean Ward, 29, died at the hospital Monday night after officers shot him in a firefight outside Belleville’s Sons of Jacob synagogue on Sunday. Ward had opened fire on Const. Jeff Smith during Yom Kippur services; Smith was in serious but stable condition.
Authorities said upward of 30 shots were fired in the exchange, striking nearby residences and shattering windows of parked cars. No motive has been made public; SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette told reporters Monday it would be “common sense” to think the synagogue and Belleville’s Jewish community were the gunman’s targets.
The SIU, Ontario’s civilian police oversight agency, is investigating the police-involved shooting; Belleville Police Service is conducting the criminal investigation. A post-mortem was scheduled for Wednesday. Canada’s Department of National Defense said records indicate Ward was likely a former Armed Forces member. Poulin said the member in its records joined in July 2017, served as an infantry soldier with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and was released in June 2022 as a corporal; Ward was not deployed.
