Two people, including a police officer, were wounded in a shooting incident outside a Belleville, Ont., synagogue Sunday night as worshippers gathered to mark Yom Kippur.
No one inside the shul was hurt, according to a social media statement by the Sons of Jacob Congregation. There were multiple unconfirmed reports the alleged shooter was in critical condition.
“We all just took cover,” one unidentified congregant told Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella. “The shooter never breached the building, as far as we know. But lots of shots were fired.”
Belleville Police said on social media one of their officers “encountered an individual in the area at about 7:10 p.m.” and “the officer and the individual sustained injuries and were transported to hospital.”
It said there was no further threat to public safety but did not elaborate further; the synagogue is a two-storey brick building in a residential neighbourhood near Belleville’s downtown.
Another unidentified congregant told the Sun’s Kinsella: “We had an officer there before we started and they started shooting at him. They never breached the building, but shots came through.”
“Thanks to the police officer who got injured. We pray for his speedy recovery.”
Premier Doug Ford said he expected all responsible to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
“I’m disgusted by the shooting that took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville earlier this evening as Jewish community members gathered to mark Yom Kippur. My thoughts are with the Jewish community in Belleville and across Ontario, who have every right to gather and worship safely and without fear,” he said on social media.
“My thoughts are also with the police officer who was shot, along with their family and loved ones. We owe an immense debt of gratitude to this brave officer and to all the first responders who acted so quickly to keep the community safe.”
John Fraser, a Liberal MPP in Ottawa, called it “a horrific act of antisemitic violence.”
“Families were gathered in community and prayer when shots came pouring through the stained glass window of their local synagogue,” he said in a statement.
The Jewish community is on high alert as they mark the holiest day of the year. Police forces had announced security plans for the Jewish holidays amid a wave of antisemitism.
“For years we have seen a growing number of Jewish centres targeted by gunfire,” said Fraser. “It was only a matter of time before someone was brazen enough to do something like this.”
Police in York Region north of Toronto, about 180 kilometres away, said it understood the Belleville incident would cause concern in its jurisdiction, and they remain in contact with their “faith partners.”
“Our officers will continue to be visible in the areas where people gather to worship,” it said in a statement.
National Post
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