There was a shooting outside an Ontario synagogue yesterday. One police officer was injured during a shootout with the suspect. Today, authorities identified the suspect as Sean Ward, a 29-year-old man.
Special Investigations Unit Spokesperson Kristy Denette told reporters outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue Monday afternoon that the suspect arrived at the place of worship in a truck armed with a shotgun as congregants prepared to mark Yom Kippur.
“He discharged his firearm at a police officer and then that police officer returned fire and then there was a second officer who arrived and then also discharged a firearm,” she said.
Belleville police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Quinte West resident Sean Ward. He remains in hospital in life-threatening condition. It’s unclear what charges he will face. The officer who was shot is in critical, but stable condition.
Early estimates suggest that as many as 30 shots were fired. People inside the synagogue didn't know what was happening.
Doug Lobel was inside Sons of Jacob Synagogue when gunfire first erupted outside and described the initial chaotic moments in an interview with CP24 on Monday morning.
Lobel said that about 24 congregation members were inside at the time. He said that many members quickly came to the conclusion that there was a gunman outside after hearing the initial volley of shots but had “no clue” what was happening beyond that.
“We just heard a lot of shots fired, we didn’t know if there was more than one shooter, we didn’t know if the officer was still there and the biggest concern was just was the gunman going to breach the doors and start targeting us?” Lobel told CP24.
During the shootout, bullets came through a window. Fortunately, by that point people were on the ground.
Belleville teacher Kyle Moffat, 29, was inside the synagogue when the shots were fired right at 7:06 pm., he said. The service was supposed to get underway right at 6:45 p.m., but he said people were still arriving and getting settled when the gunfire erupted outside.
“People are starting to take their seats. I was standing up right by the window to put on my tallis and then there was a bang. I thought it was just a car backfiring or something and then bang, bang, like rhythmic every three or four seconds,” said Moffat...
“It got faster and there’s clearly it was a different type of banging and then everybody just dove to the deck. And then it started hitting the buildings and the windows near us. The glass started breaking. I could hear the bullets hitting like the wood accents (around the window) and breaking light bulbs inside the synagogue. Then it kind of tapered off after a couple minutes.”
No one inside the synagogue was injured. Moffat put that down to the service starting late. The shooter also survived but one witness told a news outlet that they're not sure how that's possible.
Melissa Walker was outside doing yard work when the shots rang out at about 7 p.m.
“I heard gunshots and pops and I just kind of thought, is that fireworks? Like, what’s going on? And I kind of went out to the sidewalk and went a little closer and that’s when I saw people. I saw the suspect behind the car and gunshots were ringing out,” said Walker, who ran inside to get her phone and called police.
“I called and I ran a little bit further up, and I witnessed him get shot,” said Walker, who said the suspect was behind an older model Honda CRV...
“They kicked his gun away. To me, he was deceased. I don’t know why they’re saying that he’s alive. They didn’t give him any medical attention. He was on the ground, no movement, nothing, for about five minutes. And then the paramedics pulled up, loaded his body on, and that was it,” said Walker.
No one is talking about a motive yet but authorities have said that this fits the pattern of a terrorist attack.
Asked if there was evidence to suggest that Sunday night’s shooting was a terrorist attack, Denette said: “I think that common sense would say that probably was the case.”
“I want to be clear: the special investigations unit has a limited mandate, and our mandate is to criminally investigate the actions of police officers, particularly in this case, an officer who discharged a firearm at a person,” she said.
Separately, a man was arrested for another threat to carry out a shooting in an area east of Toronto over the weekend.
On Friday, September 18, 2026, members of the Hate Crime Unit received information from an external law enforcement partner regarding threats posted on an online message board to carry out a shooting at a synagogue in Durham Region.
Further investigation identified the user responsible for the messages, and on Saturday, September 19, 2026, a search warrant was executed at a residence in Whitby. The male was located in the residence and taken into custody without incident.
We'll have to wait for more information on both of these attacks, though the motive sounds pretty self-explanatory at this point.
Note: The photo above comes from a service for Barry and Honey Sherman, a wealthy Jewish couple murdered in their Toronto home back in December 2017. A suspect was seen on video in the area but, despite a multi-million dollar reward, he has never been identified.
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