Officer shot multiple times holds off synagogue gunman in Belleville, Ontario

Constable Jeff Smith was shot in the head and torso but kept fighting for nearly three minutes. The attacker, Sean Ward, died after the Yom Kippur assault on Sons of Jacob Synagogue.

Constable shot multiple times prevented mass casualty at Ontario synagogue

A police officer in Belleville, Ontario, continued to engage an armed gunman after being shot multiple times in the head and torso during a hate-motivated attack on a synagogue on Yom Kippur, authorities revealed Thursday. According to cbsnews.com, Belleville Police Service Chief Murray Rodd confirmed the details at a news conference.

Constable Jeff Smith was struck by shotgun fire almost immediately — before he could even exit his vehicle — yet he got out and confronted the attacker. "Despite suffering life-threatening injuries, within moments of encountering the armed suspect, Constable Smith exited his vehicle and engaged the attacker," Rodd said. Smith held the gunman off for nearly three minutes until Constable Mike McCurdy arrived on scene.

Rodd credited both officers with preventing "what would have become an unimaginable tragedy," stating they were the only thing standing between the gunman and the synagogue entrance.

Smith remains hospitalized and is scheduled for multiple surgeries due to "serious head trauma." He sustained bone fractures and still has shrapnel in his body, officials said. "While his recovery will be lengthy and challenging, he is making progress every day," Rodd said.

The attack took place Sunday near Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario. The gunman, identified as Sean Ward, 29, from Quinte West, was hospitalized with serious injuries after the confrontation and died later that week, police said.

Rodd described the assault as a "hate-motivated crime" carried out deliberately against the Jewish community during one of its holiest observances. "This was a deliberate attack directed at members of the Jewish community during one of the holiest observances of the year," he said.

Ward was found to have had several firearms in addition to the shotgun, enough ammunition to sustain a prolonged gun battle, and containers of gasoline in his vehicle. Rodd stated the shooter "had the means, the motive, and the mechanisms to cause a mass casualty and the destruction of the Jewish synagogue," adding that the potential loss of life "cannot be overstated."

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)