SIU says Belleville synagogue shooting suspect dead, GoFundMe created for injured officer

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says the man who allegedly triggered a shootout with a police officer outside a Belleville synagogue on Sunday has died. We are learning more about the constable who was injured during the attack, who had connections to Hamilton and Caledonia.

Const. Jeff Smith went to high school in Caledonia and attended McMaster University, where he played football.

Smith sustained serious injuries, but the SIU confirms he remains in hospital in stable condition. They have also confirmed that the suspect, Sean Ward, died on Monday night and an autopsy will be performed Wednesday in Kingston. 

News of Ward’s death came as the Department of National Defence said its records show that a former Canadian Armed Forces member with the same name matches the description of the shooting suspect.

In an email to CHCH News, a National Defence spokesperson wrote that “he joined the CAF in July 2017 and was released in June 2022 at the rank of corporal. He served as an infantry soldier with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and did not deploy during his service.”

A member of the Canadian Jewish community, Derek Kreindler, has organized a GoFundMe page for Smith.

“I have members of my family who are law enforcement,” Kreindler said. “And my mind immediately went to that. And I also felt that, you know, we should show appreciation as a community to someone who did something extraordinarily brave and courageous and put himself in extreme danger to protect the synagogue. And I felt like one of the highest values in Judaism is the protection of life. Another one is caring for the sick and injured, and then another one is charity. And I thought that putting the fundraiser together would be an appropriate culmination of fulfilling all three of those values.”

READ MORE: Suspect in Belleville, Ont., synagogue shooting has died, SIU says