A fundraiser for a police officer injured while protecting a Belleville synagogue is nearing its $1 million goal, following the officer’s recent release from hospital after weeks of treatment and multiple surgeries.
Members of Canada’s Jewish community have set up a GoFundMe to support Const. Jeff Smith, who was shot during an exchange of gunfire with a man outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue during Yom Kippur celebrations on Sept. 20, in what police later described as a hate-motivated attack.
Smith was struck multiple times by gunfire before returning fire. A second officer, Const. Michael McCurdy, arrived less than three minutes after the shooting began and joined the exchange, helping bring the attack to an end.
“Constable Smith is home, and we are $34,683 from our goal,” wrote GoFundMe page organizer Derek Kreindler on Oct. 28. “This is an important milestone, and I know thousands of donors will share in the relief of hearing it. At the same time, returning home does not mean that the difficult work of recovery is complete.”
Kreindler said the fundraiser, which had collected approximately $970,000 as of mid-day Oct. 30, would provide Smith’s family with “further support as they face a recovery whose length and full consequences remain uncertain.”
The Belleville Police Service said in an Oct. 29 statement that Smith has continued to make “positive progress” in his recovery, and had been released from hospital to recover at home.
“Constable Smith and his family remain incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support shown by the community and beyond over the past several weeks. Every well wish and message of encouragement has been sincerely appreciated,” the statement said.
A separate GoFundMe has been set up by the Jewish community for McCurdy, who arrived at the synagogue shortly after the gunfight began and joined the confrontation. The fundraiser had collected approximately $58,400 toward its $60,000 goal as of Oct. 30.
The fundraiser webpage says McCurdy “prevented a deliberate, hate-motivated attack on the city’s Jewish community from becoming a mass-casualty event.”
The shooter, 29-year-old Sean Ward, is a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier who served as an infantry soldier and was released from the military in June 2022 at the rank of corporal.
A video of the synagogue shooting played at a police press conference on Sept. 24 contained audio of Ward yelling, “you are going to die for the Jews,” before firing at Smith.
Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd told reporters that the shooting met provincial policing standards’ definition of a hate-motivated attack. He also said Ward had combustible materials in his vehicle and had the means to cause a mass-casualty event and destroy the synagogue.
The Special Investigations Unit, which investigates police-involved shootings, has said that up to 30 rounds were fired during the exchange. Bullets struck the synagogue’s windows, while approximately two dozen worshippers inside took shelter. No one inside the synagogue was injured.
