Alleged anti-immigrant suspect charged in Quebec mosque shooting

Quebec Premier Couillard called the shooting at a local mosque an act of terror. So far, police have arrested two suspects but have not released a motive for the crime. USA TODAY NETWORK

Municipal police patrols the scene of a fatal shooting in a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers on Jan. 29, 2017.(Photo: Andre Pichette, EPA)

QUEBEC CITY — A man known to express anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments on social media was arraigned at the courthouse Monday in the deaths of six people and wounding of 17 others at a Quebec City mosque — a rare mass shooting in Canada and the country’s first lethal attack on a mosque.

Police identified the suspect as Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, a resident of Quebec City. He faces six charges of first degree murder and five charges of attempted murder with a restricted firearm, according to Quebec City Court documents.

Authorities released the names of the victims as Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42; Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; Khaled Belkacemi, 60; Aboubaker Thabti, 44; Azzeddine Soufiane, 57 and Ibrahima Barry, 39.

A second man who had been held in custody was described as a witness and released Monday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a shooting at a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers that left six people dead an act of terror. (Jan. 30) AP

Five of those injured at the mosque were in critical condition and 12 others suffered minor injuries from Sunday’s attack during evening prayers, according to the University of Quebec Hospital Center.

Police offered no motive for the shootings, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it an act of terror.

“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge,” Trudeau said in a statement. “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.”

The assault occurred amid a global uproar this weekend over President Trump’s temporary ban on admitting into the United States refugees and immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries.

 

 

 

The National Council of Canadian Muslims noted an increase in hate crimes, with at least a dozen mosques vandalized last year across the country. However, no incidents of anti-Muslim killings had occurred until now.

It was the first mass shooting in the country since January 2016, when a 17-year-old male in Saskatchewan killed four people and injured several others.

In the U.S., anti-Muslim bias incidents spiked in the weeks after Trump’s election Nov. 8 but dropped off after that, according to two groups that monitor such incidents. The Southern Poverty Law Center counted 112 anti-Muslim incidents starting on Election Day.

The Quebec City mosque was the target of a hate crime during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in June. In that incident, a worshiper found a pig’s head left at the mosque’s doorstep. A note with it said: “Bon appétit,” the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Islam prohibits eating pork.

An activist group Bienvenue aux Refugies (Welcome for Refugees) issued a statement that Bissonnette is known for “Pro-Le Pen and anti-feminists” statements on social networks. Le Pen refers to French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, a staunch anti-immigrant politician and top contender in France’s presidential election this spring.

Trump called Trudeau on Monday to express condolences about the mosque attack.

The lights on the Eiffel Tower will be turned off at midnight to honor the victims, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. She said in a tweet Monday that the action would send a “fraternal message to everyone in Quebec and in Canada.”

Trudeau said “Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country.”

In response to Trump’s refugee and travel ban, Trudeau posted a message on Twitter Saturday saying, “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”

Since Trudeau’s party won election in 2015, 39,000 Syrian refugees have been admitted to Canada. Trump’s executive order issued Friday bans Syrians from entering the U.S. indefinitely.

Canadian authorities said an increased police presence would be put around mosques after the attack. The New York Police Department said it would also increase patrols at mosques and other houses of worship.

The Council on American Islamic Relations, which advocates for Muslims in the United States, usually receives about 30 reports a week of anti-Muslim incidents but received 111 in the week after Trump’s election, said Corey Saylor, director of CAIR’s Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia.

“We’re continuing to see incidents but not at that sustained level,” Saylor said. “It stayed pretty intense up until Christmas got started.” The incidents tend to involve verbal harassment and pulling headscarves off of Muslim women’s heads, Saylor said.

Mohamed Labidi, vice president of the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre, said Islamophobia has been growing.

“It’s because the tragedies (terror attacks) that happened in France and other countries, the media always repeats and stresses the word ‘Muslim, Muslim, Muslim,'” he said. “I don’t blame the media because they’re doing their job of informing the public of what happened, but maybe do better to not invite Islamophobia.”

Contributing: Oren Dorell in McLean, Va.