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Quebec Mosque Shooting Leaves Several Dead, Police Say Quebec Mosque Shooting Kills at Least 6, and 2 Suspects Are Arrested
(about 1 hour later)
OTTAWA — A shooting at a mosque in Quebec City on Sunday night killed several people and injured others, the police said. OTTAWA — Gunmen opened fire in a mosque in the city of Quebec on Sunday night, killing six people and wounding eight others in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a “terrorist attack on Muslims.”
Étienne Doyon, a spokesman for the Quebec City police, told reporters at the scene that the attack on the mosque, the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, had occurred around 8 p.m. Mr. Doyon did not say how many people had been killed or wounded. Étienne Doyon, a spokesman for the Quebec police, told reporters at the scene that the attack on the mosque, the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, had occurred around 8 p.m. At a news conference early Monday the police confirmed the six fatalities and said that two suspects had been arrested.
An earlier report from Reuters, citing the mosque’s president, said that five people had died after gunmen opened fire during evening prayers. The attack shook Canada, a country where mass shootings are uncommon, and came as the country has become known as a beacon for refugees fleeing warfare and terrorism in Muslim-majority nations.
Witnesses cited by Reuters said that up to three gunmen had fired on about 40 people inside the mosque. Mr. Trudeau assailed what he called “this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge.”
Mr. Doyon declined to confirm reports that five people had died. “It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence,” he said in a statement early Monday. “Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it “a cowardly attack on a mosque.” On Twitter, Martin Coiteux, the minister of public safety in Quebec, said that “the police systems for dealing with terrorist acts have been activated” in the wake of the shooting. “Ensuring the safety of the population is our priority,” he wrote.
Philippe Couillard, the premier of Quebec, said on Twitter that the province “categorically rejects this barbaric violence.” Radio-Canada, the French-language service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, said the area surrounding the mosque had been sealed off by the police after the attack.
Radio-Canada, the French-language service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, said the area surrounding the mosque had been sealed off by the police. Last June, a pig’s head was left at the door of the mosque in the middle of Ramadan. Practicing Muslims regard pork as unclean and do not eat it.
Last June, a pig’s head was left at the door of the mosque.
The attack comes after Mr. Trudeau said that Canada stood ready to continue welcoming refugees from terrorism and war as President Trump’s executive order on immigration stranded people around the world and provoked condemnation that it was directed at Muslims.The attack comes after Mr. Trudeau said that Canada stood ready to continue welcoming refugees from terrorism and war as President Trump’s executive order on immigration stranded people around the world and provoked condemnation that it was directed at Muslims.
In the wake of the Quebec shooting, the New York City police stepped up protection of mosques, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter.
About 765,000 people live in the city of Quebec, and 6,760 of them identified themselves as Muslims during the last national census.