A police officer was shot near a synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, on Yom Kippur — the holiest day on the Jewish calendar — and congregants inside were left to cancel services and wonder when violence against people of faith became routine in the West.
Around 7:10 p.m. Sunday, a Belleville Police officer "encountered an individual" at the intersection of Bleecker and Victoria Avenues, where the Sons of Jacob Synagogue sits, according to a department statement. Both the officer and the individual were injured and transported to the hospital. Officials would not disclose their conditions. A motive is not yet known, according to CNN.
The shooting happened as worshippers gathered to mark the holiest day of the Jewish year. No one inside the synagogue was injured, but all Yom Kippur services were canceled, the synagogue said in a Facebook post.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the officer "brave" and said the Jewish community "have every right to gather and worship safely and without fear." York Regional Police announced stepped-up patrols near houses of worship in response.
Officials declared there was "no threat to public safety" — a remarkable assurance given that an officer had just been shot at the threshold of a synagogue on a high holy day. ABC17News framed the shooting as happening "outside" the synagogue; KRDO and CNN used the softer "near." The distance may matter less than the message: in a country where citizens are largely disarmed, the state's own enforcers are the first targets, and the faithful inside are left waiting for someone else to protect them.
It is still unknown why the officer was in the area or how the shooting unfolded. Belleville police and Ontario's Special Investigations Unit have not released further details.
Meanwhile, in Placer County, California, an armed suspect remained at large Sunday night after allegedly firing at officers and law enforcement helicopters. Derek Spencer, 44, was wanted in connection with a woman's shooting death; residents were told to lock their doors and stay inside, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. Two scenes, one lesson: when violence comes, the authorities arrive after the fact — if they arrive at all.
The Belleville shooting is under investigation. The officer's condition has not been released. And the question remains: how long will Western governments tell the faithful they're safe while the evidence at their own doorsteps says otherwise?
