Quebec mosque shooting: Suspects not known to police
MONTREAL GAZETTE
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Published on: January 30, 2017 | Last Updated: January 30, 2017 10:33 AM EST
According to Radio-Canada and LCN, the two suspects in Sunday’s terror attacks on a mosque in Quebec City are Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed Khadir.
One of the suspects was arrested at the scene, while a second called 911 himself and was arrested around 9 p.m., just over an hour after the first 911 calls came in at 7:55 p.m., police said Monday morning during a news conference involving the Sûreté du Québec, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Quebec City police and Montreal police.
The suspects, men in their late 20s and early 30s, were not known to police and the investigation into a possible motive continues, said superintendent Martin Plante of the RCMP’s C Division. He would not confirm the identity of the victims.
“We must respect the judicial process, we cannot reveal suspects’ identities yet,” he said, adding that it was still too early to determine what charges the suspects in the case will face.
Only after the suspects appear in court to face the charges can their identities be released.
Sunday night’s attack left six people dead and injured many others. The six victims were all men, between 39 and 60 years old.
Chief Inspector André Goulet of the SQ said that 75 officers from the force were involved in the investigation and that all patrollers have increased their vigilance, especially around mosques.
He asked anyone with information to call the anonymous tip line at 1 800 659-4264. As of 9 a.m., the line had already received 46 calls, Goulet said.
Assistant director Patrick Lalonde of the Montreal police said that immediately following Sunday night’s incident, police contacted Muslim leaders in Montreal and increased police presence around all mosques in the city.
On Monday, an official from the Centre hospitalier de l’Université Laval said five people remain in critical condition following the attack.
Of those injured, five victims are in the intensive care unit of the Enfant-Jésus hospital in Quebec City, said Geneviève Dupuis, a spokesperson for the hospital network. Three of those five have life-threatening injuries, while the other two are more stable, the hospital said.
Another 12 people who had minor injuries have been released from hospital.
Initial reports had six people in critical condition following the shooting, but a hospital spokesperson said the sixth person who came to the hospital with a gunshot wound was from an unrelated incident.
According to the Journal de Québec, the six dead include two Algerians, a Tunisian, a Moroccan and two others from African countries.
Around 8:30 a.m., reports indicated police had arrested another two suspects in relation to the attacks. Two suspects were already in custody.
The rector of Université Laval, Denis Brière, and vice-rector Éric Beauce addressed the media Monday morning in the Alphonse-Desjardins pavilion. Reports indicate that one or both of the suspects were students at the university.
Beauce said the university couldn’t confirm that the two suspects are students at the university. “We can’t confirm it and the police haven’t told us that,” he said.
Beauce said that security has been stepped up at the campus; the university has increased the number of security guards and stepped up patrols.
“We have a large Muslim community here,” he said.
Brière said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the shootings that occurred at the mosque on Sunday night.
“I have no words to describe these cruel events that we condemn loudly this morning,” he said.
“We are devastated for the families, those close to the victims, for our Muslim community, our students, teachers and friends.”
The university will provide counselling to any student or staff member who feels they need to speak to someone, he said.
Brière expressed his condolences to members of the university community “who lost people close to them.”
On Facebook, the mosque, known as the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec, issued a statement on Monday morning.
It read, in part: “We were attacked because we are Muslim. Shot at point blank range because we are Muslims. Dead because we are Muslim.
“A scene of unspeakable brutality took place in front of dozens of Quebec citizens, including children. Gunfire, death, reloading of weapons, yelling, wounded people. Blood on the prayer rugs. A scene almost of war, hear, at home, in Quebec, our city known for its tranquility.”
Leaders of Quebec’s Muslim community are expected at city hall in Quebec City for a meeting with Mayor Régis Labeaume at 10 a.m. Monday.
Also Monday, police investigators were seen searching the residence of at least one of the suspects.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard ordered that the flag above the National Assembly fly at half-staff. The city of Montreal also lowered the flag above city hall and administrative buildings.
In Montreal,
police increased their presence around mosques in the city following Sunday’s tragedy.
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Weird combo - ex- muslim and his buddy?? Muslim and his secretly converted buddy unhappy with the mosque?
Makes no sense...FYI - Quebec has about only 6800 muslims out of a pop of ~740,000
