The shooting outside a synagogue in Belleville, Ont., that left the alleged attacker dead and a police officer wounded has been confirmed as a hate crime by the local police force.
Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd told reporters during a Sept. 24 press conference that the weekend shooting outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue met the provincial policing standards’ definition of a hate-motivated attack.
“Make no mistake, this was a targeted attack against the Jewish community,” he said. “The suspect had the means, the motive, and the mechanisms to cause a mass casualty and the destruction of the Jewish synagogue, the loss of life, and irreversible damage that could have rippled through our community for generations.”…