The shooting outside Sons of Jacob Synagogue, a Conservative synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, on Sept. 20 was a hate crime against the Jewish community, the Belleville police chief said on Thursday.
Sean Ward, the alleged gunman, died in the shootout. Police officer Const. Jeff Smith was injured.
Murray Rodd, the police chief, said in a press conference that “this was a deliberate attack directed at members of the Jewish community during one of the holiest observances of the year,” the CBC reported.
According to Rodd, the suspect said in video footage that “you are going to die for the Jews.”
“The suspect had the means, the motive and the mechanisms to cause a mass casualty and the destruction of the Jewish synagogue,” Rodd said. “The loss of life and irreversible damage that could have been rippled through our community for generations cannot be overstated.”
Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the advocacy arm of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, stated that “if not for the extraordinary bravery of Const. Jeff Smith, Canadians would have experienced the type of mass-casualty terror attack our security services have warned is a realistic possibility.”
“Today, Belleville Police released the name of a second officer that deserves our unending thanks,” Shack said. “Const. Michael McCurdy quickly responded to the shooting attack and saved countless lives. Const. Smith and Const. McCurdy’s heroism represent the very best of Canada.”
“Their courage must now serve as a rallying call to elected officials at every level of government and to Canadians across the country to confront this growing threat to our national security and way of life,” he said.
