Suspect in Canadian synagogue attack dies following Yom Kippur shoot out with police
The suspect was fatally injured in a shoot out with police on Yom Kippur and later died of his wounds
Sean Ward, 29, the suspect in the shooting attack on a Canadian synagogue on Yom Kippur, was fatally wounded during a shootout with police the same day. He later succumbed to his wounds in hospital the next day, Ontario Police said.
While Yom Kippur services were underway at the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, Ward drove up in a truck, stopping half a block from the synagogue, and opened fire on a local police officer with a shotgun.
The officer and his partner returned fire, leaving homes and vehicles in the area riddled with bullets. Police estimate around 20 to 30 shots were fired with some shots shattering the synagogue’s stained-glass windows.
Const. Jeff Smith was critically injured in the shoot out, but officials have said since that his condition has since stabilized. Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Smith a "hero" and praised him for stopping a tragedy in the making.
Smith had been parked outside the synagogue in an unmarked police car at the community's request, its president told CBC News.
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit did not comment on the motivations behind the shooting, but spokesperson Kristy Denette agreed with a reporter that the attack could be described as a terror attack.
“I think that common sense would say that probably was the case,” she said.
However, police are also investigating whether Smith or the synagogue itself was the intended target.
The Canadian Armed Forces confirmed that the name and description of the shooter match those of a former military member.
Ward served in the CAF from 2017 until 2022 and was discharged at the rank of corporal. A spokesperson also confirmed that Ward was never deployed abroad.
Photos from Ward's social media show him in a CAF uniform in 2017.