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Bullet holes line a police truck at the scene of the Sunday evening shooting outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ont., Sept. 21.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Canada’s former top soldier said he is appalled by the attack on a synagogue in Belleville, Ont., saying the alleged involvement of a veteran could risk tarring the reputation of the military.
Retired general Wayne Eyre led the military when suspect Sean Ward was released in 2022 from the Canadian Armed Forces after serving five years.
“I was horrified to hear of the events,” he said in an interview. “I was disappointed to learn of the perpetrator’s military affiliation.”
Mr. Ward was deemed unsuitable for further military service and released under a category called 5F, an involuntary discharge, The Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday according to two Department of National Defence sources. One source said Mr. Ward was removed because he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The Globe is not identifying the sources, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
Mr. Eyre said that regardless of the fact that Mr. Ward was out of the military for several years, the Forces can still be tarred with the same brush and the same dishonour.
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As chief of the defence staff from 2021 to 2024, Mr. Eyre enacted a vaccine mandate in October, 2021. At the time, he said it was a lawful order necessary for force protection and to maintain operational readiness.
The DND website says a 5F release refers to people who are removed from the military because they are considered “unsuitable for further service,” for multiple reasons. The military has used this administrative mechanism to oust troops accused of racism and sexual misconduct, among other behavioural issues. Mr. Eyre approved the 5F designation being used during the COVID mandate for those who refused an order to get vaccinated.
General Jennie Carignan, the current Chief of the Defence Staff, did not immediately provide comment for this story.
The 29-year-old Mr. Ward, of Quinte West, Ont., died in hospital on Monday night. He was injured in a gunfight with police outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville on Sunday.
Mr. Ward allegedly opened fire on an officer stationed outside the small synagogue as worshippers gathered to mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Officials have not commented on a specific motive for the attack.
Liberal MP Chris Malette, whose riding includes Belleville, said he met with police, the mayor and the province’s Solicitor-General in the eastern Ontario city on Tuesday. He also went to the site of the shooting.
“What we found out about him just from seeing the scene – this individual clearly came with some intent to do some serious harm to these people, and we saw that graphic detail yesterday,” he told The Globe. He declined to discuss what police told him or what he saw at the crime scene, citing the continuing investigation.
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On Wednesday, outside the Belleville home where a neighbour said Mr. Ward lived with his mother, there were seven police vehicles, including a black forensic investigation van, parked around the property. Two officers stood in the driveway.
Neighbour Sheri Skanes said Mr. Ward had lived at the house for several years. She said the situation, and the constant police presence, has rattled the neighbourhood.
“It’s shocking,” she said. “They were quiet people. They kept to themselves and didn’t cause a lot of noise.”
Her son, Jordan Skanes, said police had been at the address since Sunday night. He said apart from occasionally playing host to some visitors from Alberta, who stood out in the neighbourhood with their cowboy hats and out-of-province licence plates, there was nothing remarkable about the people who lived there. Mr. Ward could occasionally be seen using the backyard pool or playing with his dog, he said.
Mr. Ward served in the military from July, 2017, until June, 2022, when he was released with the rank of corporal, according to the Armed Forces. He was a member of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry regiment and did not deploy overseas during his service.
The Canadian military has not said where precisely Mr. Ward was posted. However, a private named Sean Ward was previously listed as a member of the Edmonton-based 3rd Battalion of the PPCLI, according to the regiment’s annual publication.
Mr. Ward attended Quinte Secondary School in Belleville, which closed in 2018 as part of a consolidation. He was an athlete and played on the rugby team, said former principal Liane Woodley.
Ms. Woodley said she has been in touch with past colleagues and students this week about the “very tragic” shooting.
“People are surprised, they’re shocked that someone that we’ve known could be involved in something like that,” she said.
The Special Investigations Unit, which handles cases involving Ontario police that result in death or serious injury, has wrapped up its investigation at the scene of the shooting.
A postmortem examination on Mr. Ward’s body took place in Kingston on Wednesday, said Kristy Denette, an SIU spokesperson.
Constable Jeff Smith, the Belleville Police Service officer who was wounded in the shootout with the suspect, remains in hospital in Kingston.
His wife, Ashley, thanked paramedics, police, “an angel neurosurgeon,” doctors, nurses, friends, neighbours, the Jewish community and other well-wishers in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening.
“Jeff has a very long, difficult road ahead. But he is not walking it alone. He has an army of love behind him,” she wrote in the post, which was shared by Belleville Police.
Early on Sunday evening, about 25 worshippers were about to begin evening prayers inside the Sons of Jacob synagogue, while Constable Smith kept watch in the parking lot in an unmarked vehicle.
According to the SIU, around 7 p.m., the suspect fired on Constable Smith with a shotgun and a gunfight began. A second officer arrived and fired at the suspect, who was injured in the exchange.
Dozens of shots were discharged during the incident, with about 20 coming through the synagogue’s front stained-glass window. None of the worshippers were injured.
With reports from Molly Hayes, Tu Thanh Ha and Stephanie Chambers