‘You are going to die for the Jews,’ said Belleville shooting suspect: police

The suspect in the synagogue attack in Belleville, Ont., shouted “You are going to die for the Jews” before an exchange of gunfire with police, according to a video played at a police press conference Thursday.

Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd said it was a hate-motivated crime and that 29-year-old Sean Ward had the “means, the motive and the mechanisms” to launch a larger attack.

“The loss of life and the irreversible damage that could have been rippled through our community for generations cannot be overstated,” he said.

This is the Disturbing antisemitic terror attack and hate crime outside the Sons of Jacob in Belleville on Yom Kippur. pic.twitter.com/Mr8MA2finK

— Joe Warmington (@joe_warmington) September 24, 2026

Although he said he could not go into more detail, the evidence collected shows Ward’s intent was to specifically target the Jewish community.

The attack was an “exclusive threat to our Jewish community,” said Rodd.

He shared the seconds-long video in which a man can be heard yelling, followed by the sound of two loud shots outside of the Sons of Jacob Synagogue just after 7 p.m. on Sunday. Inside the synagogue about 25 people were gathered for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. None were injured.

Rodd said Ward used a shotgun and had other resources available, including gasoline, and a “significant amount” of ammunition on him. Earlier that day, Ward was doing reconnaissance near the synagogue, according to the chief.

He said he was only stopped by Const. Jeff Smith, who was stationed outside the synagogue, and a second officer, identified as Const. Mike McCurdy, who arrived at the scene a little more than two minutes after the gunman opened fire.

Smith was shot in his vehicle but managed to get out and pursue the gunman.

Ward was shot and fatally injured. He died in hospital on Monday.

Smith was taken to hospital in critical condition. He sustained “multiple gunshot wounds to his head and his body, and continues to receive treatment for significant injuries,” said Rodd.

“He is expected to undergo multiple surgeries related to serious head trauma. While his recovery will be lengthy and challenging, he is making progress every day.”

McCurdy was not injured.

The police chief called both officers heroes.

Insp. Christine Belair of the RCMP’s Integrated National Enforcement Team could not confirm if Ward had been radicalized while serving in the military. The Department of National Defence told National Post that a man with the same name as Ward served in the Canadian Armed Forces for five years, starting in 2017.

There have also been reports that Ward was released from service due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Global News and The Globe and Mail. Belair could not confirm.

Ward was from Quinte West, a small city 18 kilometres west of Belleville.

Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, who was also at Thursday’s press conference, said as a proud Jewish person he takes the events of the last few days to heart.

“It’s one thing to say hate has no place here in our province and in our country, but we already know that. We have to go further and faster,” he said.

“We have to have a clarion call that there must be consequences for people that behave in this manner, that do not subscribe to the values of who we are.”

According to the Belleville police chief, the force has a lengthy relationship with the local Jewish community and has provided security “whenever they considered it necessary.”

“I guess one of the messages to my colleagues around the province and the country is it is clearly time that we all be proactive,” Rodd said.