As Norm Weddum walked into his synagogue Sunday evening for the Yom Kippur service, he thanked the police officer parked outside for watching over his congregation.
asserted
he → walk → congregation
Inside Belleville’s Sons of Jacob synagogue, where Weddum is president, about two dozen members were about to mark the holiest day of the year in Judaism when a noise tore through air.
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noise → mark → air
Weddum and a few others went into the lobby to investigate the sound, which some had dismissed as just another instance of someone pelting the temple with rocks.
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someone → go → rocks
“Then it happened again: bang, bang, bang,” Weddum recalled.
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Weddum → happen → bang
“I yelled, ‘everyone hit the floor, get on the floor immediately.’”
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everyone → yell → floor
Outside, where a man had skulked towards the temple, a shotgun in hand, police and the suspect exchanged gunfire — 20 or 30 shots, by some witnesses’ count.
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police → skulk → count
Some bullets blasted through the synagogue’s stained glass windows.
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bullets → blast → windows
The officer and the suspect were both sent to hospital, where Const. Jeff Smith is in stable condition and the 29-year-old accused is clinging to life.
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accused → send → life
The suspect has been identified as Sean Ward from Quinte West.
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suspect → identify → West
Police have not revealed a motive for the shooting, now under investigation by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which probes police-involved shootings.
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which → reveal → shootings
When SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette was asked by a reporter if this was a “terrorist attack aimed at the Jewish community,” she said “common sense” would say that was “probably the case.”
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that → ask → community
The apparent targeting marks the latest terrifying trend in Canada of synagogue attacks that, until now, had been confined to its largest cities.
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that → mark → cities
For the congregants of Sons of Jacob, a night that should have been filled with singing, prayer and contemplations of forgiveness has left a community riven with trauma.
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that → fill → trauma
“It shouldn’t be happening in Belleville,” Weddum said.
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Weddum → happen → Belleville
“It shouldn’t be happening anywhere.”
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It → happen → ?
Jewish community reeling, in and outside Belleville
Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis said fear stoked by the attacks have reverberated well beyond his city of 55,000 people.
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fear → reel → people
“This will affect everybody in the Jewish community across Canada,” he said.
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he → affect → Canada
“Everybody’s going to be impacted.
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Everybody → go → ?
It echoes through the whole community across the world.
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It → echo → world
I had calls last night from Hawaii, bad news travels fast.
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news → have → Hawaii
I’m thinking today of the injured officer, families, the Jewish community, what they all went through last night.”
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they → think → what
Even before the shooting, Jews in Belleville were worried for their well-being.
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Jews → worry → being
Smith, the officer stationed outside the temple, was performing a duty that had become routine for the Belleville Police Service.
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that → station → Service
After a series of violent attacks on Jewish cultural institutions in Canada in recent years, large events at synagogues, police believe, have come to warrant security.
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police → believe → security
Chris Malette, the Liberal MP for the Bay of Quinte, which includes Belleville, said he and another local MP had met with members of the synagogue earlier this year to discuss their concerns about safety and need for security.
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he → include → security
After the meeting, he said, they understood that security must be present anytime the synagogue has a major gathering, a difficult pill to swallow, he said, for someone in what he considered to be an exceptionally welcoming town.
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he → say → someone
“I don’t think you can put into words just how shocking this is for our community,” said Malette, who lives a few blocks from where the shooting happened.
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shooting → think → community
“Anyone who’s lived in Belleville knows what a tolerant place it is.”
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it → live → Belleville
Shooter had no vital signs, briefly, investigators say
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investigators → have → signs
Melissa Walker was outside doing yard work when the gunfight started.
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gunfight → do → work
She said she saw the shooter hiding behind an older model Honda CR-V.
“I witnessed him get shot,” said Walker.
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Walker → say → V.
“He was crouching behind that car, and I saw him get shot, he went down.
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he → crouch → car
I was going to run up and help, because I didn’t know what was going on.”
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what → go → ?
Police surrounded him, yelling.
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Police → surround → him
A man at the scene showed the Star dashcam footage that shows a man lying on roadway near the entrance of the synagogue while two police officers with their firearms drawn stood over him.
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firearms → show → him
Several officers with their weapons drawn were also seen running toward where the man was on the ground.
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man → draw → ground
“They kicked his gun away,” said Walker.
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Walker → kick → gun
And then the paramedics pulled up, loaded his body on, and that was it.”
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that → pull → body
According to police at an afternoon press conference, the shooter was absent any vital signs, but paramedics helped revive him.
uncertain
paramedics → accord → him
When bullets stopped, prayers started
Belleville teacher Kyle Moffat, 29, was inside the synagogue when the gunfire erupted outside.
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gunfire → stop → synagogue
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
