Six people are dead and eight seriously injured after two men carried out shooting in a Mosque in Quebec. The shooting take place on Sunday, at around 7.30pm, at the Islamic Cultural Centre where fifty people were gathered for evening prayers.
As of now, Canada is treating the shooting as a terrorist attack. One person was arrested at the scene and another nearby. The second shooter called 911 from a vehicle, asking to cooperate with the police but adding that he was armed. He was arrested near Ile d’Orleans at around 9pm.
It is alleged the shooters were students at Laval University, Quebec City, with one being of Moroccan origin. According to a witness who spoke with Radio Canada, “the two men were wearing black cagoules” and one “had a “strong Quebecois accent.” The attack is believed to be racially motivated and is not the first time the Centre has been targeted: a pig’s head was left on the doorstep last June during Ramadan.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has called for solidarity rallies in an effort to band together and diminish fear.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “we condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge. Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, city and country.”
“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge. Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, city and country.”
He has termed the incident a “terrorist attack on Muslims” and added that it is “heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence.”
