Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday strongly condemned a shooting outside a synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, that left a police officer critically injured as members of the Jewish community gathered for Yom Kippur services, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

The incident occurred around 7:10 p.m. on Sunday near the Sons of Jacob Synagogue. A 29-year-old man, identified as Sean (also reported as Shawn) Ward of nearby Quinte West, arrived in a truck armed with a shotgun and opened fire on a police officer stationed outside the building. The officer, Constable Jeff Smith, a 13-year veteran of the Belleville Police Service, returned fire, and a second officer also discharged a weapon. Between 20 and 30 shots were fired in total during the exchange.

Constable Smith was left in critical but stable condition and is recovering in intensive care. The suspect was hospitalized in life-threatening condition. No one inside the synagogue was injured, though some bullets reportedly struck nearby homes, vehicles, and the building itself. Roughly 20 to 30 worshippers were present when the gunfire erupted, and the remaining Yom Kippur services were canceled as police secured the scene.

In a post on X, Carney wrote that on “the holiest night of the Jewish calendar,” a shooting took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville. He said Jewish people must be able to worship safely, and to live free, open, proud Jewish lives, adding that Canada’s government would do everything in its power to support law enforcement in holding the perpetrator accountable to the fullest extent of the law. His thoughts, he said, were with the injured officer, his family, and the entire Jewish community.

Toronto police increased patrols near synagogues and other places of worship out of an abundance of caution, even though the shooting took place roughly 200 kilometres away in Belleville. The move reflects the ripple effect such attacks have on Jewish communities nationwide, many of whom already report heightened anxiety around high-holiday gatherings.

Police have not publicly confirmed a motive or whether the synagogue was specifically targeted. However, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit — the independent body that reviews incidents involving police — noted that the circumstances suggested the shooting could be viewed as a terrorism-related incident.

The attack comes amid heightened concern over rising antisemitism in Canada. Earlier this year, Carney announced a federal advisory council dedicated to combating antisemitism, a response to a documented rise in hate incidents, threats, and vandalism directed at Jewish institutions across the country.

For Canada’s Jewish communities, the shooting lands as a stark reminder that even the most sacred night of the year — one devoted to atonement, fasting, and prayer — offered no guarantee of safety. As investigators continue their work in Belleville, the broader question the country now faces is whether increased patrols and advisory councils are enough to protect freedom of worship, or whether Sunday’s gunfire marks the start of a harder reckoning.