• DeadEndLink@lemmy.ca
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    2 days ago

    How do they know that the suspect was targeting the synagogue and wasn’t targeting the cop? It’s kind of unusual (to me at least) that a police officer happened to be right there when the suspect is to believed to about to attempt a mass shooting.

    It reminds me a little of the shooter who was targeting the owners of pornhub this past summer. The media quite quickly made the leap that the suspect was targeting residents of the surrounding Jewish neighborhood, which wasn’t the case.

    • Otter@lemmy.caM
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      2 days ago

      RCMP is sometimes present outside places of worship during organized events, and in this case:

      Exchange of gunfire came as members of Jewish community gathered for Yom Kippur

      Yom Kippur, one of the most sacred days of the Jewish calendar, began at sundown on Sunday.

      Weddum said an officer had been stationed outside the building in an unmarked car.

      They do touch on what you’re getting at

      Why Smith was outside the synagogue, and whether Ward was specifically targeting Sons of Jacob or the city’s Jewish community, is unclear.

      “It’s believed that [Ward] came in a truck and he had a shotgun and he discharged his firearm at a police officer and then that police officer returned fire and then there was a second officer who arrived and then also discharged [their] firearm. That’s what we can tell you is our preliminary kind of findings.”

      I think it’s fair to make a statement that the Jewish community should feel safe at places of worship, since the average person would also assume that the Synagogue was being targeted. We’ll have to wait until more details are released to know for sure