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Quebec City mosque attack suspect Alexandre Bissonnette charged with 6 counts of 1st-degree murder
Facebook group described Bissonnette as having 'pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions'
By Melissa Fundira, CBC News Posted: Jan 30, 2017 4:03 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 30, 2017 7:56 PM ET
Alexandre Bissonnette, the 27-year-old man accused of opening fire on a Quebec City mosque, has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder while using a restricted firearm.
Bissonnette made a brief court appearance around 6 p.m. ET Monday. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 21.
RCMP spokeswoman Camille Habel said he could later face terrorism-related charges, depending on the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Facebook page, which has since been taken down, Bissonnette is from the Quebec City suburb of Cap-Rouge. His profile also shows he studied anthropology and political science at Laval University and was a cadet as a child.
This screengrab from the suspect's Facebook page, taken before it went offline, shows Alexandre Bissonnette as a child wearing his cadet uniform. (Facebook)
Laval University confirmed Monday afternoon that Bissonnette is a student in the social sciences faculty. In a statement, the university said he is barred from all activities at the school effective immediately until all judicial proceedings are over.
Sunday's shooting happened shortly before 8 p.m. ET, less than three kilometres away from Laval's campus, during evening prayers at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec.
Six men were killed and five people remain in hospital with injuries.
Two of the surviving victims will need more surgery, while the other three are stable and may be discharged soon. Another 13 people with minor injuries have been released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Only 1 suspected shooter
Another man was arrested outside the mosque within minutes of the shooting. Shortly after noon Monday, provincial police said that man was no longer a suspect, but rather a witness to the attack.
A half-hour after the shooting, Quebec City police Insp. Denis Turcotte said a second man called 911 indicating that he wanted to co-operate in the investigation.
Turcotte said the man parked about five kilometres from the scene of the shooting, near the bridge to Île d'Orléans, and waited for officers to arrest him.
"He was armed and spoke to us about his acts,'' said Turcotte.
'Pain and anger'
As Bissonnette's name began to circulate online, one Facebook group dedicated to welcoming refugees in the Quebec City area expressed "pain and anger" over the news.
The suspect was "unfortunately known to several activists in Quebec City for his pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions at Laval University and on social networks," wrote the Bienvenue aux réfugié.es - Ville de Québec Facebook group.
Bissonnette's Facebook page seemed to confirm those political leanings.
The suspect followed several profiles that espouse right-wing ideologies, including that of Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of France's National Front.
A search was conducted at the home of Bissonnette's parents on du Tracel Street in Cap-Rouge, as well as at a residence on des Quatre-Bourgeois Road, closer to the mosque.
A woman who identified herself as a neighbour of Bissonnette's parents said the suspect had recently moved into an apartment that he was renting with his twin brother, not far from the mosque where the shooting occurred.
"He is a child," she said. "You couldn't find one more calm than that. He never did anything, he always kept to himself. We never heard of anything."
"I saw him last Wednesday; he was arriving at his parents' home. I think he often went there," the neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, told Radio-Canada.
Another neighbour, Réjean Bussière, described Bissonnette as "a young man who is extremely withdrawn."
Bissonnette and his brother were not the kind to bother others, Bussière said, "but they were not social people."
On social media, many took issue with the categorization of Bissonnette as an introvert and a lone wolf, arguing that the suspect was spared of the term terrorist because he is white. Bestselling author J.K. Rowling was one of those voices.
View image on Twitter
J.K. Rowling
✔@jk_rowling
He. Is. A. Terrorist. Not. A. Lone. Wolf.
3:50 AM - 31 Jan 2017
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack a "despicable act of terror."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-mosque-attack-alexandre-bissonnette-1.3958559
Facebook group described Bissonnette as having 'pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions'
By Melissa Fundira, CBC News Posted: Jan 30, 2017 4:03 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 30, 2017 7:56 PM ET
Alexandre Bissonnette, the 27-year-old man accused of opening fire on a Quebec City mosque, has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder while using a restricted firearm.
Bissonnette made a brief court appearance around 6 p.m. ET Monday. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 21.
RCMP spokeswoman Camille Habel said he could later face terrorism-related charges, depending on the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Facebook page, which has since been taken down, Bissonnette is from the Quebec City suburb of Cap-Rouge. His profile also shows he studied anthropology and political science at Laval University and was a cadet as a child.
This screengrab from the suspect's Facebook page, taken before it went offline, shows Alexandre Bissonnette as a child wearing his cadet uniform. (Facebook)
Laval University confirmed Monday afternoon that Bissonnette is a student in the social sciences faculty. In a statement, the university said he is barred from all activities at the school effective immediately until all judicial proceedings are over.
Sunday's shooting happened shortly before 8 p.m. ET, less than three kilometres away from Laval's campus, during evening prayers at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec.
Six men were killed and five people remain in hospital with injuries.
Two of the surviving victims will need more surgery, while the other three are stable and may be discharged soon. Another 13 people with minor injuries have been released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Only 1 suspected shooter
Another man was arrested outside the mosque within minutes of the shooting. Shortly after noon Monday, provincial police said that man was no longer a suspect, but rather a witness to the attack.
A half-hour after the shooting, Quebec City police Insp. Denis Turcotte said a second man called 911 indicating that he wanted to co-operate in the investigation.
Turcotte said the man parked about five kilometres from the scene of the shooting, near the bridge to Île d'Orléans, and waited for officers to arrest him.
"He was armed and spoke to us about his acts,'' said Turcotte.
'Pain and anger'
As Bissonnette's name began to circulate online, one Facebook group dedicated to welcoming refugees in the Quebec City area expressed "pain and anger" over the news.
The suspect was "unfortunately known to several activists in Quebec City for his pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions at Laval University and on social networks," wrote the Bienvenue aux réfugié.es - Ville de Québec Facebook group.
Bissonnette's Facebook page seemed to confirm those political leanings.
The suspect followed several profiles that espouse right-wing ideologies, including that of Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of France's National Front.
A search was conducted at the home of Bissonnette's parents on du Tracel Street in Cap-Rouge, as well as at a residence on des Quatre-Bourgeois Road, closer to the mosque.
A woman who identified herself as a neighbour of Bissonnette's parents said the suspect had recently moved into an apartment that he was renting with his twin brother, not far from the mosque where the shooting occurred.
"He is a child," she said. "You couldn't find one more calm than that. He never did anything, he always kept to himself. We never heard of anything."
"I saw him last Wednesday; he was arriving at his parents' home. I think he often went there," the neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, told Radio-Canada.
Another neighbour, Réjean Bussière, described Bissonnette as "a young man who is extremely withdrawn."
Bissonnette and his brother were not the kind to bother others, Bussière said, "but they were not social people."
On social media, many took issue with the categorization of Bissonnette as an introvert and a lone wolf, arguing that the suspect was spared of the term terrorist because he is white. Bestselling author J.K. Rowling was one of those voices.
View image on Twitter
J.K. Rowling ✔@jk_rowling
He. Is. A. Terrorist. Not. A. Lone. Wolf.
3:50 AM - 31 Jan 2017
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack a "despicable act of terror."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-mosque-attack-alexandre-bissonnette-1.3958559
