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Hero armed cop stopped synagogue massacre in Canada as Jewish group calls for armed guards
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When a gunman approached a police cruiser outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, during Yom Kippur, approximately two dozen people were praying inside.
The armed officer sitting outside was not part of a permanent security system available to every synagogue in Canada. Police had dispatched him after receiving a report about a suspicious vehicle. That decision may have prevented a massacre.
«The only thing that stood in the way of every congregant of that shul being murdered was the presence of an armed police officer,» Simon Wolle, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, told Fox News Digital.
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A forensics officer points towards a police vehicle (out of frame) at the scene of a shooting the Sons of Jacob Synagogue where a man armed with a shotgun exchanged gun fire with a police officer stationed outside of the Synagogue late Sunday evening as people were arriving for Yom Kippur. The suspects shotgun can be seen lying on the ground adjacent the officer. PD Nick Lachance/Toronto Star Nick Lachance/Toronto Star (Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Police said last week’s shooting was a deliberate, hate-motivated attack targeting the Jewish community. According to authorities, 29-year-old Sean Ward approached Belleville Police Constable Jeff Smith and allegedly shouted, «You are going to die for the Jews,» before firing a shotgun at him.
Smith was struck multiple times while still inside his vehicle. Despite his injuries, he emerged from the cruiser and returned fire. A second officer arrived within minutes and joined the confrontation. Ward later died at a hospital.
Smith remains hospitalized after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to his head and body and serious head trauma. Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd said Smith faces multiple surgeries and a «lengthy and challenging» recovery, but said the officer is «making progress every day.»
Smith’s wife, Ashley, has also spoken publicly about her husband’s recovery, describing the shooting as «the scariest and darkest day of our lives.»
«My words aren’t strong or steady yet, but I knew I needed to find them,» she wrote. «I needed to use my voice for my dear Jeff, until he is able to use his.»
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Shots seen on a truck in Ontario, Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday, Sept. 21, condemned a shooting outside a synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, on an evening that left a police officer wounded as members of the Jewish community gathered for Yom Kippur services. (CTV screenshot via Reuters)
Ashley Smith also addressed the Jewish community directly, thanking those who have supported her husband and their family. «Please know that your love, your prayers and your support have reached us,» she wrote. «We are deeply grateful. We love you, we see you, we pray for you.»
She said her husband still faces «a very long, difficult road ahead,» but added that he is surrounded by what she called «an army of love.»
The worshipers inside the synagogue were not physically injured.
Investigators later disclosed that the gunman possessed what Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd described as the «means, motive and mechanisms to cause a mass casualty and the destruction of the Jewish synagogue.» Police also reported discovering combustible materials inside the suspect’s vehicle.
«This individual had the means, the intention, the deliberate plans and the capacity to conduct a murderous massacre,» Wolle said.
Anti-Israel protesters gather outside the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue on March 7, 2024. The place of worship was one of three synagogues shot in the first week of March 2026. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
For Wolle, the attack exposed more than a violent act of antisemitism. It revealed a legal and security system that he believes leaves Canadian Jewish institutions dangerously vulnerable.
B’nai Brith Canada is calling for changes to federal and provincial laws that would allow synagogues, Jewish schools and other vulnerable institutions to hire qualified armed security guards.
«There is currently no legislation in place that allows for Jewish institutions to hire the kind of armed protection that may be necessary,» Wolle said.
Canada’s firearms regulations are controlled at the federal level, while private security is also governed through separate provincial rules. Wolle said those frameworks must be aligned so institutions confronting credible threats have a lawful way to employ trained, licensed armed guards.
FLORIDA MAN INDICTED FOR ALLEGEDLY PLOTTING MASS SHOOTING TARGETING JEWISH EMPLOYEES AT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION
EDMONTON, CANADA – APRIL 13 Anti-Israel protesters holding antisemitic posters in Alberta, Canada on April 13, 2025. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via AP)
At present, he said, Jewish institutions can ask police departments to increase patrols, although departments cannot always guarantee that an officer will be stationed outside. Communities can also try to hire paid-duty police officers, but availability remains limited.
«So the only option right now for the Jewish community to protect itself from the unprecedented amount of violent attacks taking place all across this country is to plead with local police services to come by if they can,» Wolle said. «They will not guarantee that they will do so in most circumstances.»
That leaves Jewish communities spending their own money to reinforce buildings, install surveillance systems and hire officers when available.
«Right now, the Jewish community is using its own money primarily to build walls, put up stronger fences, add cameras and then pay for the privilege of having an armed police officer,» Wolle said. «Our lives are being threatened across the country, and the government hasn’t taken the steps to offer the necessary protection.»
B’nai Brith has made two requests. It wants laws amended to permit qualified armed private security at vulnerable Jewish institutions and it wants the government to fund an increased police presence at those locations.
Wolle said the burden of protecting Jewish Canadians from targeted violence should not rest solely on the people being threatened.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech in the hemicycle of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 17, 2026. Carney welcomed a proposal by European Commission President for Canada to become the EU’s first associate member and rejected threats by President Donald Trump over Ottawa’s push for closer ties with the European Union. (AFP via Getty Images)
«The government needs to meet its most basic obligation and responsibility, which is to protect its citizens,» he said.
The numbers provide a stark context for his concerns. Statistics Canada recorded 788 police-reported hate crimes targeting Jewish people in 2025, representing more than 70% of all reported religiously motivated hate crimes that year.
Wolle said Jewish Canadians constitute only approximately 1% to 2% of the country’s population, yet remain overwhelmingly affected by religiously motivated hate crimes. Preliminary data from B’nai Brith’s 2026 annual audit indicate that violent antisemitic incidents have already more than tripled compared with the total recorded throughout 2025.
«There is a national crisis of Jew hatred in Canada,» Wolle said.
B’nai Brith has been warning for months that antisemitic violence is accelerating. Wolle said the organization submitted recommendations and concrete plans to different levels of government before the Belleville attack.
A man fixes the lock of the doors of Congregation Beth Tikvah as police investigate an alleged arson at the synagogue in the suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux in Montreal, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
«We’ve been calling for many things from all levels of government,» he said. «We provided concrete action plans to each.»
The shooting has intensified the organization’s demand that lawmakers treat the security of Jewish institutions as an emergency rather than another subject for future discussion.
«The most urgent thing that is needed is a mechanism for there to be armed protection of Jewish institutions that are under attack right now in Canada,» Wolle said.
He emphasized that B’nai Brith is not calling for firearms to be placed indiscriminately inside synagogues and schools. Its proposal concerns trained, vetted and qualified security professionals operating under a clearly defined legal framework.
«If we don’t have enough armed officers, then we need legislative frameworks changed to allow for alternative armed guards to protect Jewish institutions,» Wolle said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the Belleville attack and called on anyone with information to contact law enforcement.
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Temple Emanu-El in Toronto, Canada was shot at on March 3, 2026. No injuries were reported. (Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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«On the holiest night of the Jewish calendar, a shooting took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville,» Carney said. «Jewish people must be able to worship safely. To live free, open, proud Jewish lives.»
Wolle welcomes expressions of support, but said Canadian Jews now need their government to move beyond statements.
«The government gives us words and no action,» he added.
Belleville offered a disturbing picture of what could have happened without an armed officer outside. The congregants did not know that a man police say was driven by hatred had allegedly arrived with weapons and the capacity to cause mass casualties.
One report of a suspicious vehicle led to one officer being placed outside. That officer, Wolle stressed, became the barrier between the gunman and the people praying inside.
«In the wake of these harrowing events, Canada’s Jewish community cannot wait any longer for the government to act,» he said.
The people inside Sons of Jacob survived. Wolle’s warning is that Canada cannot depend on chance, a suspicious-vehicle report or the availability of a single officer the next time a Jewish institution is targeted.
«This is not a Jewish community problem,» he said. «This is a Canadian problem.»
anti semitism, canada, hate crime, mark carney
INTERNACIONAL
Reporter’s Notebook: Senate sneaks in one last political play before voters have their say
In politics, you sometimes just do what you can.
All 100 duly chosen and sworn U.S. senators understood why the Senate met for a week at the end of September.
Yes there was the college sports bill. Yes there was the confirmation of Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling. Yes there was a big hearing with former special counsel Jack Smith.
But you’d be badly mistaken if you thought both sides were really there to hammer out a package to bring down the cost of living for Americans.
Don’t take my word for it. Take the word of the senators.
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You are correct to say that Democrats blocked two bills that Republicans say voters really want. One was a measure to diminish the costs consumers pay for data centers and a plan to restrict stock trades by lawmakers. The latter bill even included a voter ID requirement – crucial to the GOP and its base. But Republican senators knew that Democrats wouldn’t accept these proposals.
This was about politics.
And Democratic senators wouldn’t accept any of the GOP’s legislative propositions, either.
So let’s start with the Ratepayer Protection Act.
Both sides know that voters are tripped out about AI and utterly losing it when it comes to data centers. An internal GOP memo in August revealed that the party was especially leery of what this meant for Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the Senate last year to succeed Vice President JD Vance. Husted helped foster development of data centers as an official back in the Buckeye State.
So, the final week of the Senate’s session before the midterms crawled with politics.
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Republicans aimed to curb skyrocketing utility costs associated with the construction of data centers.
«(People) ought to be guaranteed no electricity bills will go up by a cent because of a data center,» said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. «It sends a clear message that these AI companies and these data centers can’t just come into local communities and strip mine out (land). Raise the electricity rates. Kick people off the grid. Take their water.»
But Democrats say the bill didn’t compel compliance by AI firms. This was just a suggestion that those who build the data centers help foot some of the bill.
«It is a sham. A charade because it has no enforcement,» said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
«Everything in that bill can already be done by a state regulator. Or it can already be done by a data center developer. And the bill requires nothing of them,» argued Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
I pressed Kaine on if «something was better than nothing.»
He disagreed.
«No. You shouldn’t trick people. And this is not even something,» replied Kaine. «It’s nothing,»
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., piled on with, «The Ratepayer Protection Act is a fraud. It does not require any protections at all. While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill.»
The bill is laced with midterm politics. Democrats claim Republicans called the vote to throw a lifeline to Husted.
Many Senate Republicans were ready for the Senate to leave town for the midterms. But they hedged their bets around the data center bill. And, Husted.
«Can you say 110 precent this is not a vote to help Jon Husted in Ohio?» yours truly inquired of Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
«I think it will help him,» replied Hoeven. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., agreed with Hoeven.
«The one thing I’ll just say is that this is clearly a political ploy,» said Kim. «This is not something that’s good for the American people. But it’s certainly good for Sen. Husted.»
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The tilt between Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is one of the nation’s most contentious Senate contests.
«I don’t think that there’s a secret that Sen. Husted is trying to pass a piece of legislation so he could go home and run a campaign ad,» said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.
Husted conceded as much.
«We gave everybody a chance to do something about affordability and the Democrats blocked it. So we’ll go campaign on it,» said Husted.
So yes. The Senate’s last week of session was about the midterms.
«Has there ever been a late September or October before an election that wasn’t all politics?» asked Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
The evolving positions on the data center bill by Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., may be an example of that.
Welch was a yea when asked about the legislation on September 23 , after it overwhelmingly cleared the House.
«I support it and I’d be glad to vote on it,» said Welch.
But the Vermont Democrat flipped to nay when the issue approached a roll call vote on the floor.
«Why did you change? I asked Welch.
«Well, two things. One, they won’t allow us to have an amendment. And the problem with this bill is that it has no teeth,» he replied.
So the question is whether the sides prefer action. Or, if they’d rather have the issue. In fact it could be argued that Husted may have scored some political capital, deploying the blocked bill as a foil in an effort to contrast himself to Democrats.
«It ought to be something that should be a no brainer here on the floor of the Senate,» said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
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It’s rare that competitive Senate contests pivot on a solitary issue. And certainly an individual debate or vote. Democratic Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson is pushing Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. It was one of the most factious confirmation battles in history. But Collins won reelection in 2020. That vote was eight years ago.
A vote like the one on the data center measure just before the election can plant a seed in the mind of voters. And since Republicans were struggling on affordability – and then AI and data centers emerged as an issue – forcing this vote was probably the best political play the GOP had at its disposal. In campaigns, you do all you can.
Let’s say for a moment that Husted loses narrowly to Brown in two weeks. And maybe Republicans would have held the Senate had Husted prevailed. Perhaps exit polling reveals that voters wished Republicans had done more on affordability. Party insiders would then accuse the Senate GOP brass of political malpractice by denying Husted a chance to make his case.
It was the best Husted could do. And the best Senate Republicans could do.
It may not work. But at least Republicans can say they did what they could.
politics, midterm elections, senate, democrats senate, john thune, chuck schumer, republicans elections
INTERNACIONAL
Guatemala: La PNC abre pesquisas internas y externas por el asesinato de Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa y por la captura de los hermanos Choc Toz
La Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) de Guatemala informó que activó investigaciones internas y externas por el asesinato de Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa y Gustavo Aguilar, así como por el procedimiento de detención de los hermanos Choc Toz, quienes quedaron libres al dictarse falta de mérito.
La institución también solicitó recursos urgentes para adquirir cámaras corporales y sistemas de videovigilancia destinados a patrullas, para evitar supuestos malos procedimientos por parte de los agentes de la policía en Guatemala.
En el comunicado publicado este lunes 19 de octubre, la Dirección General de la PNC informó que equipos de la Inspectoría General y de la Dirección Especializada en Investigación Criminal (DEIC) trabajan de forma coordinada con el Ministerio Público (MP) para esclarecer el doble crimen ocurrido el 17 de octubre en unas canchas deportivas de la ciudad guatemalteca.
La PNC sostuvo que sus unidades especializadas investigan el caso tanto desde el plano externo como dentro de la institución.
El objetivo, según el texto oficial, es determinar las circunstancias en las que murieron Solórzano Foppa y Aguilar, además de establecer si hubo responsabilidades entre los agentes vinculados al procedimiento contra los hermanos Choc Toz.
La comunicación institucional no identifica a los policías bajo revisión ni detalla las circunstancias de la captura. Sí afirma que las áreas de investigación y supervisión evalúan “minuciosamente” la actuación de los agentes para verificar que se haya ajustado a la ley y a las garantías fundamentales.
No obstante, fuentes cercanas a la institución indicaron que por lo menos cuatro agentes de la policía están siendo investigados luego de la detención de los hermanos Choc Toz.
“Cuatro equipos de DEIC” siguen el doble asesinato, según David Custodio Boteo
En una entrevista con TN23, el director general de la PNC, David Custodio Boteo, afirmó que la investigación penal se encuentra bajo reserva por decisión del Ministerio Público. Añadió que la Policía Nacional Civil asignó recursos específicos para acompañar las directrices de los fiscales.
“Tenemos cuatro equipos de DEIC, de los mejores equipos de delitos contra la vida, que están dándole seguimiento al caso”, afirmó el jefe policial al referirse al doble asesinato. Según explicó, esos grupos buscan avanzar en las pesquisas por las muertes de Solórzano Foppa y Aguilar.
El funcionario también indicó que la Inspectoría General revisa, en paralelo, el procedimiento realizado por los policías que tuvieron a su cargo la detención de los hermanos Choc Toz. “Son dos equipos especiales que se tienen asignados para apoyar las directrices” emitidas por el Ministerio Público, dijo Boteo durante la entrevista.
Infobae ha tratado de comunicarse con el director de la Policía Nacional Civil para conocer más detalles sobre las pesquisas, el alcance de la revisión a los agentes y las medidas adoptadas tras los hechos. Hasta el cierre de esta nota, el funcionario no había respondido las llamadas.
La PNC pidió fondos para cámaras corporales y videovigilancia en patrullas
La institución anunció que buscará acelerar, por las vías normativas disponibles, la compra e implementación de body cams para los uniformes policiales y de sistemas de grabación para las patrullas. La PNC plantea que el equipamiento aporte registros objetivos de cada intervención y permita verificar la actuación de los agentes.
Boteo aseguró a TN23 que la institución ya prueba cinco cámaras corporales dentro del Plan de Policía Metropolitana. El plan inicial apunta al distrito central y al departamento de Guatemala, donde la PNC prevé comenzar la implementación si logra la asignación presupuestaria.
El director estimó que el proyecto requiere un promedio de Q25 millones, alrededor de USD 3.2 millones, para contratar los equipos y los servicios tecnológicos asociados. La PNC no precisó cuántos dispositivos prevé incorporar durante la primera etapa.
En su comunicado, la institución argumentó que la tecnología busca evitar abusos contra la población, proteger a los agentes ante acusaciones falsas y respaldar las investigaciones sobre procedimientos cuestionados.
Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa,Policía Nacional Civil,Guatemala,fotomontaje
INTERNACIONAL
Tras el debate en Brasil, Lula se acerca a Flávio Bolsonaro en las encuestas y crece la incertidumbre en la recta final de la campaña
El primer debate presidencial aumentó la incertidumbre en Brasil. A solo seis días del balotaje del domingo próximo, el presidente Lula da Silva acortó aún más la desventaja sobre su rival de derecha Flávio Bolsonaro, según los últimos sondeos divulgados este lunes.
La diferencia a favor del primogénito de Jair Bolsonaro entra en el margen de error en dos de las tres encuestas conocidas hoy.
Un sondeo de BTG/Nexus reveló que el candidato del Partido Liberal (PL) cuenta con el 50,3% de los votos válidos (que excluyen los sufragios en blanco, nulos e indecisos) contra el 49,7% de Lula. La ventaja a favor del actual senador es de tan solo 0,6% frente a los 3,2 puntos del sondeo anterior divulgado el martes pasado.
Otra encuesta de Atlas/Bloomberg muestra a Bolsonaro con el 51,1% contra el 48,9% de Lula (con una diferencia de 2,2 puntos).
Un tercer sondeo de PoderData/Aya dio a Bolsonaro una ventaja de cuatro puntos (52% a 48%), el único que se muestra por fuera del margen de error.
La encuestas fueron realizadas antes del debate transmitido por la TV Band.
“Flávio aún tiene cierta ventaja, porque está numéricamente por delante, pero principalmente porque sabemos que la abstención tiende a perjudicar un poco más la candidatura de Lula. Históricamente, la abstención se concentra más entre los votantes de bajos ingresos y con menor poder adquisitivo, donde Lula recibe significativamente más votos que Flávio”, dijo Marcelo Tokarski, director general de Nexus.
En la primera vuelta, celebrada el 4 de este mes, Bolsonaro venció por dos puntos (47% a 45%) sobre Lula. Ambos candidatos mantendrán un segundo debate este viernes, dos días antes del segundo turno.
Quién ganó el debate
El debate, el primero de la campaña electoral, estuvo plagado de chicanas, denuncias y acusaciones cruzadas de corrupción.
Las propuestas quedaron opacadas ante la profusión de imputaciones y recriminaciones. En el cierre del debate el griterío de la platea, colmada de asesores y simpatizantes, interrumpió las consideraciones finales de ambos candidatos.
En un principio, Bolsonaro se mostró más seguro y logró desestabilizar a Lula, pero el actual presidente se recompuso y logró emparejar el desarrollo.
El analista brasileño Rodrigo Toniol destacó a TN que el debate fue seguido de forma masiva en Brasil. “Hoy por la mañana, en las calles, este es uno de los temas de conversación”, indicó.
Según afirmó, “en términos generales, fue un debate violento, absolutamente carente de propuestas y viciado por contenidos diseñados específicamente para convertirse en fragmentos virales en las redes sociales”.
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