TORONTO — A police officer was hospitalized in critical but stable condition and a 29-year-old gunman was in life-threatening condition after an exchange of gunfire Sunday near a synagogue in Ontario as members of the Jewish community marked Yom Kippur, authorities said.

The gunman drove up in a truck, was stopped half a block from the synagogue, and opened fire, authorities said. The province’s Special Investigations Unit said it would make sense to believe that the synagogue was deliberately targeted, but stressed that this was speculation.

The SIU said the exchange of gunfire, with dozens of shots fired, happened near the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, about 110 miles east of Toronto. Belleville police said the officer encountered the man around 7:10 p.m.

The synagogue president said the police officer had been stationed outside the building in an unmarked car.

Police have not officially said what led to the shooting or whether the synagogue or Jewish community was targeted. They asked people to avoid the area while officers investigated.

The synagogue, a Conservative congregation, posted on social media that an incident had occurred during Yom Kippur services on Sunday evening. “There were no injuries of anyone inside the building,” it said. It added that “as a result all services scheduled for Yom Kippur day are canceled.”

The synagogue’s president, Norman Weddum, told Canada’s CBC on Monday that he was ushering people into the sanctuary to begin services when he heard shots ring........

© The Times of Israel