Six people are dead, five of the wounded remain in critical condition in hospital after a Quebec city Mosque shooting. Police were called to the mosque at around 8pm on January 29th on report of a shooting.
There were men, Women, and children at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec for evening prayer when the shooting took place. The shooter opened fire on the people who were praying. The victims ranged in ages from 39-60.
Police have arrested two suspects, but have not released their names, or motive on the attack. The first suspect was arrested at the scene, police said the second suspect called 911 himself and said he was armed and would cooperate.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tragedy a “terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge”.
Update January 30th
Police have now said only one of the two men is considered a suspect and the second person is considered a witness. Alexandre Bissonnette 27 has been identified as the sole gunman.
Bissonnette is facing 11 charges including six counts of first degree murder and five counts of attempted murder using a restricted firearm.
Update February 2
The victims names have been released.
- Azzedine Soufiane, 57, father of three and owner of a halal grocery store.
- Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, father of two and worked in information technology.
- Khaled Belkacemi, 60, father and professor at Laval University.
- Aboubaker Thabti, 44, father of two, worked at a pharmacy.
- Ibrahima Barry, 39, father of four, worked at Quebec’s Revenue Ministry.
- Abdelkrim Hassane, 41, father of three, worked as a programming analyst for the Quebec government.
Update November 26th, 2020
According to reports Quebec’s Court of Appeal stated it was unconstitutional to give a life in prison sentence with no possibility of parole for 40 years to Alexandre Bissonnette who pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and six-counts of attempted murder.
The Crown prosecutors had originally asked for a 150-year prison term, asking for life sentences to be stacked on top of each other.
On November 26th, the appeals court reduced Bissonnette’s sentence to 25 years without the possibility of parole.