Shooting near Ontario synagogue injures two, including officer
A Sunday night shooting near a synagogue in the southern Ontario city of Belleville has left two people injured, including a local police officer, authorities said.
The shooting occurred around 7:10 p.m. EDT in the area of Bleecker and Victoria avenues, the police department for the city of Belleville, located about 118 miles northeast of Toronto, said in a statement, adding that a police officer and an unidentified individual sustained injuries.
Both were transferred to the hospital, where the man was in life-threatening condition, according to Ontario’s civilian police oversight agency, the Special Investigations Unit, which said in a statement that it was investigating the shooting. The condition of the police officer was not made public.
“Investigators en route to scene,” it said.
Circumstances surrounding the shooting — which occurred near the Sons of Jacob synagogue and on the night of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism — were not immediately clear.
Ontario Gov. Doug Ford said online that he was “disgusted” by the shooting and that his thoughts were with the Jewish community in Belleville and across the province.
“I expect that all those responsible are arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” he said.
The police agencies for Toronto, Canada’s largest city, and York Region said separately online that they were aware of the shooting and would increase patrols near synagogues and other places of worship.
“Jewish Torontonians should not need police presence to observe Yom Kippur, or to simply live their day-to-day lives,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in a statement.
“As long as we contend with rising antisemitism and hate, we will spare no expense keeping the community safe.”
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