Quebec City mosque shooting

Quebec City mosque shooting
Sainte-Foy
Quebec City mosque shooting (Quebec City)
Quebec City mosque shooting (Quebec)
Quebec City mosque shooting (Canada)
Location Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Canada
Coordinates 46°46′41″N 71°18′19″W / 46.77806°N 71.30528°W / 46.77806; -71.30528Coordinates: 46°46′41″N 71°18′19″W / 46.77806°N 71.30528°W / 46.77806; -71.30528
Date January 29, 2017 (2017-01-29)
7:55 p.m. (EST)
Target Muslim worshippers at a mosque
Attack type
 Mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths 6[1]
Non-fatal injuries
 19 (2 critical)[2][3]
Perpetrator Alexandre Bissonnette[4]

The Quebec City mosque shooting (French: Attentat de la grande mosquée de Québec) was a terrorist attack/mass shooting that occurred on the evening of January 29, 2017, at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada. Six worshippers were killed and nineteen others injured when a lone gunman opened fire just before 8:00 pm, shortly after the end of evening prayers.[5] Fifty-three people were reported present at the time of the shooting.

The perpetrator, Alexandre Bissonnette, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder.[6][7] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Philippe Couillard called the shooting a terrorist attack,[8][9] but Bissonnette was not charged under the terrorism provision of the Criminal Code.[10]

Background

The province of Quebec prioritizes immigrants who speak fluent French, and therefore has many Muslim immigrants from former French colonies such as Senegal, as well as Syria, Lebanon, and the North African countries of the Maghreb. A number of Muslim French citizens with family origins in the former French colonies have immigrated to Quebec from France. Arab residents of the province make up a larger share of its population than any other Canadian province. Like most immigrants to Quebec, they are concentrated in Montreal, Quebec's largest city.[11]

The Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City's Grande Mosquée de Québec in the city's west-end Sainte-Foy neighbourhood is one of several mosques in Quebec City.[12][13] The mosque is close to the Université Laval, which has many international students from French-speaking, Muslim-majority African countries.[14] In June 2016, during Ramadan,[15] it was the target of an incident in which a pig's severed head was left outside the mosque.[14] The incident has been described as a hate crime and an Islamophobic attack.[15][16] After the incident, the mosque installed CCTV security cameras.[14]

Quebec City has a low crime rate; in 2015, there were only two homicides in the city.[14] However, it has an active far-right community, compared to other Canadian cities. A local chapter of Soldiers of Odin said it wanted to "patrol" neighbourhoods where Muslims live.[17]

Shooting

According to witnesses at the scene, the gunman entered the mosque shortly after the scheduled 7:30 pm prayers began, wearing either a hood or a ski mask.[14][12] At about 7:55 pm EST, when the first calls to the police were made, he began shooting at worshippers lingering in the mosque after the prayer.[9][14][18][13] A witness said the attacker walked into the mosque after the evening prayer and started shooting anything that moved and left after emptying his weapon.[19]

Victims

Six people were killed and nineteen were injured in the attack.[3][2][20]

The six victims were: Ibrahima Barry (aged 39), Mamadou Tanou Barry (aged 42), Khaled Belkacemi (aged 60), Aboubaker Thabti (aged 44), Abdelkrim Hassane (aged 41) and Azzedine Soufiane (aged 57).[21]

The dead included the owner of a local halal grocery store, a professor at Université Laval, three civil servants, and a pharmacy worker.[22][23] According to the Islamic Cultural Centre, all six victims were dual citizens of Canada and the countries from which they emigrated.[24] The government of Guinea said two of its citizens were among the dead.[25]

Victim Azzeddine Soufiane was said to have prevented deaths by running at the shooter and trying to stop him, getting fatally shot in the process. Many mourners described him as "a hero".[26]

Perpetrator

Alexandre Bissonnette (born c. 1989), a student at Université Laval, was identified as the suspect. He called police from the area near the bridge to the Île d'Orléans far from the mosque, and told them he was involved and wanted to surrender.[27][28][29] Université Laval announced that Bissonnette would not be allowed on campus while judicial proceedings were underway.[30]

Bissonnette grew up in Cap-Rouge. Neighbours said his father and mother were both present in his life and were model parents, adding that they had never had a problem with either him or his twin brother.[30] Former acquaintances say he was introverted and sometimes bullied at school.[31] He was not known to police, and he had no court records other than traffic violations.[31] Before the shooting he had been living in an apartment near the mosque along with his twin brother.[32][33]

People who knew him said he had had far-right, white nationalist, and anti-Muslim views.[28][34][35] The manager of a refugee-support Facebook page said Bissonnette frequently denigrated refugees and feminists online.[30][31] A member of the mosque said he had met and talked with him outside the mosque on January 26, believing he was interested in Islam, but he veered away from the subject.[36][37]

Prosecution

Bissonnette was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder on January 30.[27] Although the Canadian prime minister and Quebec premier both condemned Bissonnette's actions as a terrorist attack, charges of terrorism were not brought; according to Canadian legal experts, in the Canadian Criminal Code, the offence of terrorism requires not only acts of violence, but usually also collaboration with a terrorist group, which would be difficult to prove for a single gunman.[38][39] The six counts of murder would amount to a sentence of 150 years without parole under the 2011 Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murders Act.[38] Evidence against the suspect was provided to the defence team on February 21. The defence team's request for a publication ban on future proceedings was also granted.[40][41]

After initially pleading not guilty to all charges on March 24, 2018,[42] Bissonnette pleaded guilty to all charges on March 28.[43]

Bissonnette told police officers he was motivated by Justin Trudeau's response to Donald Trump's travel ban, and that he was convinced that refugees were a threat to his family.[44]

Aftermath

Police response and arrest

Police created a dragnet and closed the bridge to the Île d'Orléans while searching for suspects. One individual was initially detained at the mosque by police. Bissonnette surrendered near the Île d'Orléans after he contacted police at 8:10 pm,[45] proclaimed himself as the shooter involved and gave them his location.[12][18] According to one early report, a man who presented himself as a witness said two attackers dressed in black and with Québécois accents entered the mosque and shouted "Allahu Akbar" before shooting.[18][46]

Police later determined that there was only one gunman[47][18][46] and said only one of the detained individuals was considered a suspect. The other individual was released shortly afterwards, and is considered a witness.[45][48] He later said he was outside the mosque when he heard the shooting and went inside when it ceased. He added that he mistook the arrival of the armed police as the shooter returning and fled after which he was arrested.[20][45] According to an affidavit released to the media in March, he was administering first aid to the victims when he was arrested.[49] It also said a chase of a possible suspect ensued after a police officer pulled a gun and ordered him to freeze. The man was later arrested.[50]

Police began treating the attack as a terrorist incident at 10:00 pm, and activated the Structure de gestion policière contre le terrorisme (SGPCT) (Structure of police management against terrorism) protocol, a protocol for acts of terrorism in the region. It gave control of the investigation to the provincial Integrated National Security Enforcement Team—a joint anti-terrorism task force comprising the Montreal police, the Sûreté du Québec, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.[13][14][51] At 10:40 pm, police declared the situation under control, with the building secured and the occupants evacuated.[18]

Treatment of the wounded

The injured were transported to different hospitals in Quebec City,[14] such as the L'Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus and the Centre hospitalier de l'Université Laval.[52]

Future security measures

Philippe Pichet, the chief of Montreal police, and Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, the mayor of Gatineau, both announced their cities would increase security around local mosques.[53] Martin Coiteux, the provincial public security minister, said religious buildings in the province would be protectively surveilled, those in the capital by the Quebec City police.[18]

Vigils and commemorations

A vigil in Montreal's Park Extension.

On January 30, public vigils and gatherings were held across Canada to show sympathy to the victims of the shooting, their families and their community.[54] The largest assembly, held in Quebec City, was attended by the prime minister and his wife, and leaders of all official federal parties.[55] After speeches, a procession walked in silence to the site of the attack and left flowers before the mosque.[56] The government of Quebec also set up a register of condolences where citizens can send testimonies to the victims of the attack and the families of the dead.[57]

Government reactions

Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume declared that the city would stand with the victims' families through what he called a "terrible ordeal that defies reason".[53] Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard offered solidarity with the families and friends of the victims, and tweeted, "Quebec categorically rejects this barbaric violence."[18] He also denounced the attack as terrorism and ordered that flags at the National Assembly of Quebec be flown at half-mast.[18] Labeaume and Couillard, along with Martin Coiteux, the provincial Minister of Public Safety, held a joint press conference and called for unity.[58] At the conference, Couillard told Quebec's Muslim population "We're with you. You are home, you are welcome in your home. We're all Québécois."[13]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also extended his condolences to the victims and denounced the shooting as a "cowardly attack" and as a "terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge".[15][18][53][8] In a Senate hearing, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Bob Paulson called the suspect a "criminal extremist" and warned about the type of terrorism arising from easily influenced people being radicalized because of growing political polarization and "caustic" political debate.[59][60]

Various world leaders expressed their condolences over the attack. Pope Francis, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.S. President Donald Trump contacted Prime Minister Trudeau and offered him assistance.[61][62]

Though no evidence of motive had been revealed in a court of law at the time, on the anniversary of the attack, January 29, 2018, Prime Minister Trudeau stated before the House that the victims were "gunned down by ignorance and hatred, fuelled by Islamophobia and racism". "These attacks sought to divide this country and its citizens, drive wedges between neighbours, and make enemies of strangers". [63] The Honourable Andrew Scheer (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) also stated the "shooting was an act of terror". "Last year's attack was a hate crime that took six innocent lives." [64]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dienst, Jonathan; Schecter, Anna R.; Blankstein, Andrew; Saliba, Emmanuelle; Connor, Tracy (January 31, 2017). "Quebec 'Terrorist Attack': College Student Alexandre Bissonnette Charged". Comcast Corporation. NBC News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Chamberlain, Samuel; Gaydos, Ryan. "Suspect charged with murder in Quebec mosque terror attack". Fox News Channel. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Two victims still critical after terror attack on Quebec City mosque". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Student charged with Quebec mosque attack". BBC News. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  5. ↑ Newton, Paula (January 30, 2017). "Six dead in Quebec mosque shooting". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Why accused in Quebec City mosque shooting isn't likely to face terrorism charges". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Quebec: Alexandre Bissonnette charged with six murders". Al Jazeera. January 31, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Russell, Graham (January 30, 2017). "Québec City mosque shooting: six dead as Trudeau condemns 'terrorist attack'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Ashifa Kassam; Jamiles Lartey (January 30, 2017). "Québec City mosque shooting: six dead as Trudeau condemns 'terrorist attack'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 30, 2017. Witnesses reported seeing two men dressed in black and wearing ski masks walking into the mosque and opening fire. One watched as one of the gunmen began shooting at "everything that was moving"
  10. ↑ Feith, Jesse (January 31, 2017). "Why no terrorism charges in Quebec mosque shooting? It would place extra burden on prosecutors: experts". National Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  11. ↑ Gagnon, Lysaine (November 20, 2013). "How Quebec chooses immigrants". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 "Qui sont les suspects derrière la fusillade à Québec?". TVA Nouvelles (in French). January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Perraux, Les (January 29, 2017). "'Quebec City is in mourning': Six dead, eight wounded in mass shooting at mosque". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hawkins, Derek; Freeman, Alan (January 30, 2017). "6 killed, 8 injured by gunmen who invaded Quebec City mosque". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 "Quebec City mosque attack: Six dead and eight injured". Al Jazeera. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Suspect in deadly Canadian mosque shooting charged with six counts of murder". The Washington Post.
  17. ↑ Monpetit, Jonathan (January 31, 2017). "Muslim leaders in Quebec City find it difficult to ignore tensions that preceded shooting". CBC News.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "6 dead, 2 arrested after shooting at Quebec City mosque". CBC News. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  19. ↑ Kassam, Ashifa; Lartey, Jamles (January 29, 2017). "Québec City mosque shooting: six dead as Trudeau condemns 'terrorist attack'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Quebec mosque shooting: police now say there's only one suspect". The Gazette. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Victims of Quebec mosque shooting identified". Montreal Gazette. 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  22. ↑ Ha, Tu Thanh (January 30, 2017). "Mosque shooting victims: Six men who sought better lives in Quebec". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Sainte-Foy grocer, Laval University prof ID'd as victims in Quebec mosque attack". CBC News. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Les six victimes identifiées". TVA Nouvelles. Agence France-Presse and Agence QMI. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Quebec mosque shooting suspect charged with murdering six people". Reuters. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Hommage à Azzeddine Soufiane: «C'est un véritable héros»".
  27. 1 2 "Quebec mosque attack: Student Alexandre Bissonnette charged". BBC News. January 30, 2017.
  28. 1 2 Kovac, Adam (January 30, 2017). "Alleged anti-immigrant suspect charged in Quebec mosque shooting". USA Today. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  29. ↑ Kassam, Ashifa (January 30, 2017). "Québec City mosque attack: man charged with six counts of murder". The Guardian.
  30. 1 2 3 "Bissonnette s'était replié sur lui-même". Las Presse (in French).
  31. 1 2 3 Perreaux, Les; Andrew Gree, Eric (January 31, 2017). "Quebec City mosque attack suspect known as online troll inspired by French far-right". The Globe and Mail.
  32. ↑ Haig, Terry (January 31, 2017). "Quebec City man charged in Sunday mosque attack that killed six". Radio Canada International.
  33. ↑ Dougherty, Kevin; Lampert, Allison (January 31, 2017). "Canada shooting suspect rented apartment close to Quebec mosque: neighbors". Reuters.
  34. ↑ "Shooter Behind Quebec City Mosque Attack is Radical White Nationalist". Democracy Now!. January 31, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Quebec City mosque attack suspect known as online troll inspired by French far-right". The Globe and Mail. 30 January 2017.
  36. ↑ McKenna, Kate (January 31, 2017). "Alleged shooter in Quebec City attack was at mosque Thursday, member says". CBC News.
  37. ↑ Allen, Karma (1 February 2017). "Quebec Shooting Suspect Visited Mosque Days Before Attack". ABC News.
  38. 1 2 "Why accused in Quebec City mosque shooting isn't likely to face terrorism charges". CBC News Montreal. CBC/Radio-Canada. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  39. ↑ https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/10/16/terrorism-charges-are-only-reserved-for-muslims.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. ↑ "Accused Quebec City mosque shooter appears again in court on six murder counts". Agence France-Presse. 22 February 2017.
  41. ↑ Kevin Dougherty (12 February 2017). "Quebec mosque hires own lawyers for accused gunman's trial". Reuters.
  42. ↑ Alexandre Bissonnette, accused in Quebec City mosque shooting, pleads not guilty, at CBC.ca; published March 26, 2018; retrieved March 28, 2018
  43. ↑ "Quebec mosque shooting suspect Alexandre Bissonnette pleads guilty" – via The Globe and Mail.
  44. ↑ Cecco, Leyland (April 13, 2018). "Canada mosque shooter says he was motivated by Trudeau welcoming refugees". The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  45. 1 2 3 "Only 1 suspect in deadly Quebec mosque shooting, police say". CBC News. January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  46. 1 2 Ling, Justin (January 29, 2017). "Six dead in Quebec mosque attack". Vice News. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  47. ↑ "Attaque terroriste dans une mosquée de Québec" (in French). CBC/Radio-Canada. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  48. ↑ Woods, Allan; Poisson, Jayme (January 30, 2017). "Quebec police say one of the men arrested in mosque attack is now considered a witness". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  49. ↑ Woods, Alan (March 3, 2017). "How police responded to Quebec mosque shooting". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  50. ↑ Riga, Andy (March 3, 2017). "Police describe bloody scene after Quebec City mosque shooting". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Suspect in Quebec Mosque Shooting Calls Police to Surrender". The Quint. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  52. ↑ "Attentat terroriste dans une mosquée : ce que l'on sait". TVA Nouvelles (in French). January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  53. 1 2 3 "Quebec City mosque shooting kills six people: 'We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims,' PM says". National Post. The Canadian Press. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  54. ↑ "Québécois et Canadiens unis dans le recueillement après l'attentat de Québec" [Quebecers and Canadians united in contemplation after the bombing of Quebec City]. Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  55. ↑ "Canadians across the country hold vigils for Quebec mosque shooting victims". CBC News. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  56. ↑ "Attentat de Québec : « Nous n'acceptons pas cette haine » - Justin Trudeau" (in French). CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  57. ↑ "En mémoire des victimes de l'attentat de Québec" [In memory of the victims of the Quebec bombing] (in French). Government of Quebec. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  58. ↑ "Régis Labeaume exprime sa 'révolte devant ce geste crapuleux'" [Régis Labeaume expresses his 'revolt before this crapulous gesture']. TVA Nouvelles (in French). QMI Agency. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  59. ↑ Crawford, Alison (February 6, 2017). "RCMP commissioner says 'caustic' political debate that radicalizes followers a concern". CBC. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  60. ↑ Leblanc, Daniel (February 6, 2017). "Quebec City mosque shooter was a 'criminal extremist': RCMP Commissioner". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  61. ↑ "Il cordoglio del Santo Padre per le vittime dell'attentato terroristico alla moschea di Québec (Canada)" [The Holy Father's condolences for the victims of the terrorist attack on the mosque in Quebec (Canada)] (in Italian). The Vatican. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  62. ↑ Stone, Laura (January 30, 2017). "Trump, Putin and other world leaders express condolences for mosque attack". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  63. ↑ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  64. ↑ "Debates (Hansard) No. 252 - January 29, 2018 (42-1) - House of Commons of Canada". Ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.