BELLEVILLE, Ontario (AP) — A 29-year-old man suspected of opening fire on a police officer stationed outside an Ontario synagogue during Yom Kippur has died from his injuries, the province’s police watchdog said Tuesday.
Belleville police identified the man as Sean Ward of Quinte West. Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, an independent civilian agency that investigates police shootings, said Ward died Monday night.
The Department of National Defense said Ward joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 2017 and served as an infantry soldier before leaving in 2022 at the rank of corporal. He did not deploy during his service.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, declined to comment on questions about the suspect’s former military service, but praised the wounded police officer, Jeff Smith, for his “heroic actions” and said “no effort will be spared” in the investigation.
The Special Investigations Unit has said a man armed with a shotgun opened fire on a police officer stationed outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue on Sunday night, triggering a shootout that left him and the officer seriously injured.
About two dozen people were inside the synagogue to mark the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, but none were injured.
Synagogue President Norman Weddum said he shouted for everyone to get down after hearing gunfire. Moments later, bullets pierced a window facing the street and struck the opposite wall.
“If he hadn’t been there ... you probably wouldn’t be talking to me right now,” Weddum said of Smith, praising the officer’s response.
Police have not established a motive or said whether the Sons of Jacob Synagogue or the Jewish community was targeted. The SIU is investigating the actions of the officers, while Belleville police are conducting a parallel criminal investigation that will examine the man’s actions and possible motive.
The shooting comes months after Carney warned that Canada was failing its Jewish community amid a surge in antisemitism.
Police officers walk in front of the Son of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario on Monday Sept. 21, 2026. (Ian MacAlpine/The Canadian Press via AP)
A bouquet of flowers is shown near Son of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario on Monday Sept. 21, 2026. (Ian MacAlpine/The Canadian Press via AP)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Polo grew into one of the most powerful Pacific cyclones in decades on Tuesday, and it was expected to skirt Mexico’s southwestern coast as a Category 5 hurricane.
Polo was an “extremely dangerous” storm with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 kph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in an update from an NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft that was sent into the cyclone.
It was the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season, following Genevieve and Lowell earlier this year. Category 5 is the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, reflecting that a storm has maximum sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (253 kph).
Polo was centered 215 miles (345 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and nearly stationary over the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday evening. The hurricane center update said Polo was expected to travel in a generally west-northwestward direction over the next several days.
The hurricane set residents of Mexico's Pacific coast on edge once again after being walloped by powerful cyclones a number of times in recent years. Beaches emptied out and dark clouds swirled above choppy seas, while Mexican authorities temporarily suspended classes in a number of areas on Tuesday.
National Hurricane Center data shows that Polo has reached speeds comparable to only a few hurricanes to form in the region in recent decades, primarily Hurricane Patricia, which reached 215 mph (346 kph) in 2015.
“This is one of the strongest storms ever in the (Pacific) Basin,” said Kristen L. Corbosiero, professor at the University at Albany’s Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a weather alert, instructing citizens to avoid water and beaches and to heed warnings from Mexican authorities.
“Even if the storm does not make direct landfall, heavy rain may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides. Hazardous ocean conditions—intensified by storms—may result in deadly rip currents and rogue waves,” the embassy wrote in a statement.
The rapid intensification of the storm has stunned scientists and authorities alike, with the NHC writing in a report that it was “truly remarkable” how quickly Polo gained strength in the past 24 hours.
Philip Klotzbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, attributed the intensification to the weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods in other parts of the region.
In the Pacific, it has resulted in warmer waters and wind patterns that act as fodder for hurricanes, he said.
“There are all the ingredients that hurricanes need to get really strong really fast,” Klotzbach said.
For many on the Pacific coast, Polo brought back harsh memories of devastating Hurricane Otis in 2023, which tore through nearby port city Acapulco. The destruction and dozens of people killed by the storm were attributed, in part, to the rapid intensification of the hurricane because it gave residents little time to brace themselves, pull their boats onto shore or evacuate.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in her morning press briefing that experts had indicated that the hurricane was not likely to touch land. Mexico’s navy shut down ports in the states of Guerrero and Michoacán as a precaution and warned civilians and fishermen to take care.
As Polo plowed by Acapulco on Tuesday, the swirling seas and normally packed beaches were left eerily empty and dark clouds churned overhead.
Heavy rain could produce flash flooding and mudslides. About 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) of rain was forecast for Guerrero and Michoacán states, with smaller amounts possible for coastal portions of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco states. Strong winds and rough surf were also expected.
Tropical Storm Odalys was also in the Pacific Ocean but far from land. The cyclone could become a hurricane sometime Tuesday, the hurricane center said. Odalys had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph).
In the Atlantic Ocean, Fay weakened to a remnant. Maximum sustained winds were down to 35 mph (56 kph) Tuesday and the system was far southwest of the Azores.
No Atlantic hurricanes have formed yet this year, and this year has set a record for the longest start to a season without a hurricane. The effects of this year’s El Niño crush storms before they get going.
Brooks reported from Atlanta.
This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo strengthening in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Fay, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Odalys, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo intensifying in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
