Six Dead in Mosque Shooting

Parliament+Hill+in+Ottawa

Parliament Hill in Ottawa

At 7:50 p.m. on Sunday, January 29, the Quebec Provincial Police Agency received calls reporting that shots had been fired in the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec in Quebec City. Six have been pronounced dead, and eight others are wounded.

Two gunmen opened fire at the mosque after those inside were finishing up their prayer. The two men were identified as Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, and Mohamed el Khadir, suspected to be in his late 20s or early 30s. Prior to the shooting, the mosque was subjected to acts of harassment and bigotry, ranging from hate mail and swastikas painted on the doors to severed pigs head left in front of the mosque last June.

President Trump, Pope Francis, leaders from France and Germany, and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York expressed support for Canada and the victims of the attack. In response to the shooting, Mayor de Blasio stated on Twitter that the NYPD has stepped up protection of mosques in the city.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, stated in a news conference that this attack is “a terrorist attack on Muslims” and “It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.”