One of two gunmen who shouted ‘Allahu akbar!’ as they opened fire at a mosque in Quebec City was of Moroccan origin, a witness and local media reported Monday, revealing the first details about the attackers in the massacre that killed six men.
The terror suspects were identified as Mohamed Khadir and Alexandre Bissonnette, the CBC reported. The two men were arrested soon after the shooting at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre Sunday night and were expected to appear in court later Monday, police told reporters.
One of the gunmen actually turned himself in, calling 911 less than 20 minutes later and giving officers his location in d’Orleans so they could arrest him, police said. The attack unfolded in the men’s section of the mosque.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack, calling it a “terrorist attack on Muslims.”
The attackers were students at Université Laval, a school in Quebec, a source close to the investigation told Radio Canada, saying one was Moroccan. Police said the suspects were not on their radar.
Five people were in critical condition and 12 others suffered minor injuries, University of Quebec Hospital Centre spokeswoman Genevieve Dupuis said Monday. The dead ranged in age from age 35 to 60.
A possible motive was unclear. Police said they did not believe there were other suspects.
One of the gunmen was armed with an AK-47, the Le Soleil newspaper reported.
A witness who asked to remain anonymous told Radio Canada the two shooters were masked.
“It seemed to me that they had a Quebecois accent. They started to fire, and as they shot they yelled, ‘Allahu akbar!’ The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head,” the person said.
“It was with tremendous shock, sadness and anger that I heard of this evening’s tragic and fatal shooting at the Centre culturel islamique de Quebec located in the Ste-Foy neighborhood of the city of Quebec,” Trudeau said in a statement. “Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country.”
The gunfire started at the Islamic center at around 8 p.m., Le Journal de Quebec reported. More than 50 people were attending prayer service at the time of the shooting. The center’s president Mohamed Yangui said the shooters reloaded at least three times.
Police ramped up security at mosques across the country after the massacre.
An unidentified man looking for his friends, who were regular attendees of evening prayers, told Le Journal de Quebec, “I’ve tried to reach them, but I cannot. It’s terrible.”
The French-speaking province of Quebec has been embroiled in a lengthy debate about race and religious accommodation. The previous separatist government of the province called for a ban on ostentatious religious symbols such as the hijab in public institutions.
The CBC reported that someone left a pig’s head on the mosque’s doorstep this past June, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Islam’s holy book, the Koran, forbids them from consuming pork.
“We were told that it was an isolated act, but today we have deaths,” Yangui told reporters. “It is minutes and hours of terror and anguish.”
In the U.S., the NYPD said in a statement that officers have been told to give “special attention” to mosques in the area. Police said they were monitoring the situation in Quebec.
(AP)
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18 Responses
And there you have it . Looks like trump was right after all…
Wasn’t it really nice of Canada to offer temporary visas to anyone barred from entering the USA?
I mean, what could possibly happen?
Canada needs a Canadian Trump to MAKE CANADA GREAT AGAIN.
“And there you have it . Looks like trump was right after all…”
This won’t change anyone’s opinion. Anyone who thought he was wrong will still think he’s wrong.
#4 This ban is actually from Obama but we didn’t he you nor the liberals out there protest.
Under the Act signed in Dec 2015, travelers in the following categories are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the Visa Waver Program (VWP):
Nationals of VWP countries who have been present in Iraq, Syria, or countries listed under specified designation lists (currently including Iran and Sudan) at any time on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited government/military exceptions).
Nationals of VWP countries who have been present in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, at any time on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited government/military exceptions).
I guess the French-Canadians of whom Trudeau is nominally one are enriched by this Islamic diversity.
unbelievable! the media at the same time they talk about the “terrible trump ban” the next sentence they tell about the terror attack. some ppl will never learn
We need a BAN asap!!!! Don’t let schumers tears scare you!
Does anyone notice that, if this report is correct, at least one of the attackers at a Quebec mosque was a Muslim?
Has anyone noticed that the attackers of all those Muslim Syrians who are seeking refuge in the US are Arabs and Muslims, under the command of an Arab Muslim (Bashir al-Assad)? Yes, some Muslims misbehave, and some are fleeing the misbehaving ones. It takes more than Mr. Trump’s four-year-old’s attention span to figure this out. But it’s much easier to Twitter some quick ‘n’ easy solution. Thomas Jefferson never Twittered.
Your line make no sense whatsever thomas hefferson didnt tweet cause there was no Twitter. And you have no clue if he would have if he did all the presidents that are alive right now have twitter and is active on twitter. And trumps not banning them cause they are muslim he is bannimg them cause thats where most radical islamic terroist are coming from and he feels it safer for now. Just because 100 or 1000 or 100000 person is doing the right thing thing in these countries they are atill plenty who are terroist and trump what extreme vettumg cause he dosent want terrcoming in is he wrong for wanting to protect us? Just because some of you are idiotic liberals who think america second does not mean we all want america second. And as for all you who are comoaring this ti the Jews in the 1930 dont forget that FDR was a Democrat liberal and didnt turn us away cause he was trying to keep america safe he turn us away cause he was a anti-semite
Perhaps the mosque was too liberal for this jihadist. If one looks at what ISIS is doing to their fellow Muslims, one can understand that Islamic terror on a mosque is not an impossibility
#10
Overly simplistic
There are some ,but only some, parallels
They were kept out in the ’30s ,because Jews were ‘disruptive’ to the body politic
All the pro-Trump people here should recognize that this article is based on an initial error. Mohamed el Khader is not a suspect, had nothing to do with the shooting and is merely a witness to the event.
The shooter is a native French Canadian who liked Trump on his facebook page.
Time for all the Islamaphobic haters above to man up and admit to their mistake.
YWN should correct this article and update it to reflect the actual facts. There is enough paranoia among Trump supporters and there is no need to add hate and fear.
bla bla bla
what a joke,
it appears that the suspect is a French canadian born and raised in Quebec.
so ypu can all take back your comments.
It’s time to bar all white Christianshirt in to usa
What a bafoon it’s a terror attack BY muslims on “NON”-muslims. The reason one radical Islamist feels he can kill another is because he holds that the other one is NOT a true Muslim. Hereford it’s an attack BY Muslims directed at those who they don’t consider to be Muslims. And KAL VACHOMER they would do something like that to those who are for sure non Muslims. Those who they call pigs and apes, despite the moderate “people of the book” thing. C’mon is the world ever going to wake up?
#17 – The shooter was a French Canadian not a Muslim.