Accused gunman, Alexandre Bissonnette, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in Canadian court yesterday for opening gun-fire on worshippers in a Quebec City mosque on Sunday, Jan. 29.
CBC News Montreal reported that six people were killed and another five have been hospitalized. 13 more people were released from the hospital after sustaining minor injuries.
CBC noted that Bissonnette personally contacted the police half an hour after the attack. Officials found him in a parked car 5 kilometers from the scene of the crime where he proceeded to tell officers about his crime. He is 27 years old and a political science student at Laval University.
According to his now deleted social media profiles and accounts given by those that knew him, he was against immigration. His attack was called a “despicable act of terror” by Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
Mohamed Belkhadir was also arrested, but is no longer a suspect and was released as a witness.
This is not the first time the Cultural Islamic Center of Quebec has been the target of a hate crime. In June of 2016 a pig’s head was left on the mosque’s steps with a note that said “Bon appétit.” As part of Islamic religious regulations, Muslims are prohibited from consuming pork.
This shooting comes only a day after Trudeau tweeted a message welcoming immigrants to the country in response to President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions.
