One police officer is in critical condition after exchanging gunfire with a suspect in a shooting near Belleville’s Sons of Jacob synagogue in Canada during Yom Kippur services on Sunday evening, according to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU).
The suspected shooter, identified as a 29-year-old man by CNN, was armed with a shotgun and is in life-threatening condition.
No one inside the synagogue at the time of the attack was wounded.
Synagogue President Norm Weddum told CNN that the officer had saved the lives of everyone who had attended the evening services and that the building had been hit with multiple bullets.
Carney condemns shooting, Toronto police increase patrols near synagogues
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the shooting in a post on X/Twitter on Monday.
“Last night, on the holiest night of the Jewish calendar, a shooting took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville,” Carney posted on X/Twitter. “Jewish people must be able to worship safely. To live free, open, proud Jewish.”
Last night, on the holiest night of the Jewish calendar, a shooting took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville.
A police officer was shot and the community has been left shaken.
Jewish people must be able to worship safely. To live free, open, proud Jewish…
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) September 21, 2026
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also condemned the shooting in a post on social media, saying Jewish community members had “every right to gather and worship safely and without fear.”
Toronto’s Police Service said it was increasing patrols near synagogues and other places of worship “out of an abundance of caution.”
Carney in June announced a new federal advisory council to combat antisemitism, warning that a surge in hate crimes means the country is failing to protect Jewish Canadians.
