Sean Ward Used Antisemitic 'Killer' Handle Weeks Before Belleville Synagogue Shootout
Updated
Updated · CBC Sports · Sep 24
Sean Ward Used Antisemitic 'Killer' Handle Weeks Before Belleville Synagogue Shootout
3 articles · Updated · CBC Sports · Sep 24
Summary
CBC found Sean Ward tried to use an antisemitic username meaning “Jew killer” on Sept. 2, about three weeks before the Belleville synagogue attack in which he later died.
A childhood friend said Ward had also begun railing against immigrants, blaming them for his unemployment, and appeared depressed and sharply changed in behavior and appearance over the summer.
Ward, 29, was killed after police said he fired a shotgun at Const. Jeff Smith outside Sons of Jacob Synagogue during Yom Kippur services; Smith was wounded and dozens of shots were exchanged.
The case lands amid a broader rise in anti-Jewish violence in Canada, with B'nai Brith recording more than 6,800 antisemitic incidents in 2025, a record since 1982.