QUEBEC—Details are emerging of some of the six victims of the Quebec City mosque attack on Sunday. Here is some information about them: Azzedine Soufiane: The father of three was a grocer and butcher. Local imam Karim Elabed described him in an interview as an important member of the community — a longtime Quebec City resident who often helped guide newcomers to the provincial capital. “Mr. Soufiane was someone who was well known in Quebec because he opened one of the first community businesses here,” said Elabed, an imam at a mosque in nearby Levis. “Myself, when I arrived here eight years ago, (his shop) was the first place I learned about and pretty much all of Quebec’s muslims did their groceries there.”

Khaled Belkacemi: Universite Laval confirmed Monday that Belkacemi, was one of their own and was a professor in the food science department. “Our university community is in mourning today,” rector Denis Briere said in a statement. “We mourn the death of an esteemed member of the faculty and the university, a devoted and beloved man of his colleagues and students.” Mohamed Labidi, vice-president at the mosque where the attack took place, said Belkacemi was a good friend.

“He wouldn’t have hurt anyone,” Labidi said. “He was so kind and gentle.” Retired Universite Laval professor Hani Antoun described Belkacemi as a valued colleague and respected scientist. He said Belkacemi was married to another professor in the department and had three children. “He was a kind person, someone who was appreciated by everyone,” Antoun said. “He was a renowned scientist who was very well known. It’s an enormous loss.” Abdelkrim Hassen: Another father of three who was identified by friend Ali Hamadi. Hamadi said he left the mosque a few minutes before the shooting and that Hassen was killed. Hamadi said Hassen worked in information technology for the government and that he was a father with three daughters and a wife. Two of the victims were Guinean nationals, the government of that country reported Monday. “In this painful circumstance, the government of Guinea expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to the Canadian government, the families of the disappeared, and the entire nation,” said a statement on the government’s website. “Guinean representatives in Canada are actively engaged in meeting the families of our compatriots and expressing the support of the nation as a whole.” — with files from The Associated Press</s>The attack that killed six men at a Quebec City mosque has stoked Canadian Muslims’ growing safety fears.

Imam Zia Khan of the Centre for Islamic Development in Halifax says some members fear it’s the start of increased violence and are calling for more security measures.

He says news of the mosque shooting has shocked and frightened a minority Muslim community that was already on edge.

He says his local mosque has been targeted in the past with graffiti and hate mail urging followers to leave the country.

Quebec police say they’ve stepped up security around mosques in that province.

Two suspects were arrested after six men aged 39 to 60 were killed and several others wounded during the attack late Sunday in Quebec City’s Ste-Foy neighbourhood.

Last June, a pig’s head was left at the entrance of the mosque, the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec.

In Toronto, Mayor John Tory said on Twitter that he has spoken with his city’s police service “to make sure all steps are being taken to keep our citizens safe.”</s>Toronto, Canada, Jan 29 (EFE).- Canada’s prime minister has condemned the attack on a mosque in Quebec City on Sunday that left at least four people dead.

“Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families,” Justin Trudeau said on Twitter.

Police in Quebec confirmed that the attack on Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre caused deaths and injuries but has not provided a specific count.

Local media reported that at least four people died and executives of the Islamic Cultural Center have raised the figure to five.

In recent months, the mosque has experienced acts of vandalism and xenophobic messages.

In June, during the month of Ramadan, someone left a pig’s head with a note saying “Bon Appetit” on the door of the mosque.

“Let’s unite against violence. We stand in solidarity with the Muslim people of Quebec,” Philippe Couillard, premier of Quebec, said on Twitter.

According to the local media reports, the directors of the Islamic Cultural Center said the attack occurred shortly after 8 pm Sunday local time (1 am Monday GMT) when dozens of people were gathered in the mosque.

La Presse newspaper said in its digital edition that at around 9.15 pm Sunday, a suspect was located by police on one of the city’s bridges.

Canadian broadcaster CBC reported that three suspects had taken part in the attack and two have been arrested by police, while La Presse noted that one of the suspects was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. EFE</s>A French-Canadian university student has been charged with six counts of premeditated first-degree murder following the shooting at a Quebec City mosque that killed six people.

Court documents identified the gunman in the attack on Sunday evening prayers as Alexandre Bissonnette.

He was also charged with five counts of attempted murder, according to court papers.

Among the six men killed were a butcher, a university professor, a pharmacist and an accountant, according to police and Canadian media.

Authorities initially said they had arrested two suspects, but in a Twitter message the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that "following the investigation, the second individual is now considered as a witness".

The second man is of Moroccan descent although his nationality is not known, the source said. He has been named by media as Mohamed Khadir, or Mohammed Belkhadir.

Police said they were confident no other suspects were involved in the attack.

"They consider this a lone wolf situation," the source said.

Police declined to give details about Bissonnette or possible motives for the shooting at the mosque, the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec.

The gunman opened fire on around fifty people at the mosque during evening prayers on Sunday night. The same mosque was targeted last year when a pig's head was left on its doorstep during Ramadan.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons in Ottawa: "Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack," adding a personal message to Canada's 1 million Muslims:

"Know that we value you. You enrich our shared country in immeasurable ways. It is your home. Last night's horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians," he said.

The attack was out of character for Quebec City, a city of just over 500,000 which reported just two murders in all of 2015. Mass shootings are rare in Canada, where gun control laws are stricter than in the United States.

In addition to the six killed, five people were critically injured and 12 were treated for minor injuries, a spokeswoman for the Quebec City University Hospital said.

US President Donald Trump called Mr Trudeau to express his condolences "and offered to provide any assistance as needed," said Mr Trudeau's spokesman Cameron Ahmad. He gave no further details about of the call.

Over the weekend, Mr Trudeau said Canada would welcome refugees after Mr Trump suspended the US refugee program and temporarily barred citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Mr Trump's action, which the President said was "not about religion — this is about terror and keeping our country safe," was widely condemned in the United States and abroad as targeting Muslims.

A father of four, the owner of a halal butcher near the mosque, was among those killed, said Pamela Sakinah El-hayet, a friend of one of the people at the mosque.

The mosque concierge was killed, as was Ahmed Youness, a 21-year-old student, Ms El-hayet said.

One of Ms El-hayet's friends, Ms Youness' roommate, was in the mosque at the time of the shooting. He was unharmed, she said, but in total shock.

Student Ali Assafiri said he had been running late for the evening prayers at the mosque. When he arrived, the mosque had been transformed by police into a crime scene.

"Everyone was in shock," Mr Assafiri said.

Citizens for Public Justice, a group of Canadian Christians, churches and other religious congregations, expressed their solidarity with the Muslim community of Quebec City.

While the motive for the shooting was not known, incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years.

The face-covering, or niqab, became a big issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies.

Pope Francis offered his condolences to Cardinal Gerald Cyprien LaCroix, Archbishop of Quebec, who was visiting Rome on Monday.</s>QUEBEC CITY — A man known to express anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments on social media was arraigned at the courthouse Monday in the deaths of six people and wounding of 17 others at a Quebec City mosque — a rare mass shooting in Canada and the country's first lethal attack on a mosque.

Police identified the suspect as Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, a resident of Quebec City. He faces six charges of first degree murder and five charges of attempted murder with a restricted firearm, according to Quebec City Court documents.

Authorities released the names of the victims as Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42; Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; Khaled Belkacemi, 60; Aboubaker Thabti, 44; Azzeddine Soufiane, 57 and Ibrahima Barry, 39.

A second man who had been held in custody was described as a witness and released Monday.

Five of those injured at the mosque were in critical condition and 12 others suffered minor injuries from Sunday's attack during evening prayers, according to the University of Quebec Hospital Center.

Police offered no motive for the shootings, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it an act of terror.

"We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge," Trudeau said in a statement. "It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear."

The assault occurred amid a global uproar this weekend over President Trump’s temporary ban on admitting into the United States refugees and immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims noted an increase in hate crimes, with at least a dozen mosques vandalized last year across the country. However, no incidents of anti-Muslim killings had occurred until now.

It was the first mass shooting in the country since January 2016, when a 17-year-old male in Saskatchewan killed four people and injured several others.

In the U.S., anti-Muslim bias incidents spiked in the weeks after Trump's election Nov. 8 but dropped off after that, according to two groups that monitor such incidents. The Southern Poverty Law Center counted 112 anti-Muslim incidents starting on Election Day.

The Quebec City mosque was the target of a hate crime during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in June. In that incident, a worshiper found a pig's head left at the mosque's doorstep. A note with it said: "Bon appétit," the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Islam prohibits eating pork.

An activist group Bienvenue aux Refugies (Welcome for Refugees) issued a statement that Bissonnette is known for "Pro-Le Pen and anti-feminists" statements on social networks. Le Pen refers to French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, a staunch anti-immigrant politician and top contender in France's presidential election this spring.

Trump called Trudeau on Monday to express condolences about the mosque attack.

The lights on the Eiffel Tower will be turned off at midnight to honor the victims, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. She said in a tweet Monday that the action would send a “fraternal message to everyone in Quebec and in Canada.”

Trudeau said "Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country."

In response to Trump's refugee and travel ban, Trudeau posted a message on Twitter Saturday saying, "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."

Since Trudeau's party won election in 2015, 39,000 Syrian refugees have been admitted to Canada. Trump's executive order issued Friday bans Syrians from entering the U.S. indefinitely.

Canadian authorities said an increased police presence would be put around mosques after the attack. The New York Police Department said it would also increase patrols at mosques and other houses of worship.

The Council on American Islamic Relations, which advocates for Muslims in the United States, usually receives about 30 reports a week of anti-Muslim incidents but received 111 in the week after Trump's election, said Corey Saylor, director of CAIR’s Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia.

“We’re continuing to see incidents but not at that sustained level,” Saylor said. “It stayed pretty intense up until Christmas got started.” The incidents tend to involve verbal harassment and pulling headscarves off of Muslim women’s heads, Saylor said.

Mohamed Labidi, vice president of the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre, said Islamophobia has been growing.

"It's because the tragedies (terror attacks) that happened in France and other countries, the media always repeats and stresses the word 'Muslim, Muslim, Muslim,'" he said. "I don't blame the media because they're doing their job of informing the public of what happened, but maybe do better to not invite Islamophobia."</s>French President Francois Hollande on Monday condemned "in the strongest possible terms" what he called an "odious attack" in Quebec City that claimed six lives.

Eight more people were injured after gunmen opened fire at a Quebec City mosque late Sunday, a shooting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said was a "terrorist attack."

"It's the spirit of peace and openness of the people of Quebec that the terrorists wanted to hit," added Hollande.

Canadian police have arrested two suspects following the attack that police are also treating as an act of terrorism.

According to witnesses interviewed on local television, two masked gunmen burst into the cultural centre around 7:15 pm (0015 GMT) on Sunday.

The motive of the attack was not immediately clear.</s>While details are still unfolding on the Quebec City mosque attack Sunday night, there is little question that the shooter was motivated by hate for Muslims. As such, Quebec and Canadian political leaders should take a long, hard look at how their statements and actions may exacerbate such hate.

Quebec Muslims rightly see the Quebec City mosque killings as just the latest escalation in a trend of growing harassment against Canada's Muslims. "The Muslim community in Quebec is suffering from a flood of hate attacks...and now the attacks are escalating and bringing...the death of innocent people," lamented Samer Majzoub, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum.

It may be months before we learn the twisted motives of the killer in the mosque attack, but it is certainly not unreasonable to suppose that U.S. president Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban might have played a role in encouraging the attack. Because whether Trump or anyone else, the statements and actions of our political leaders can easily legitimize unacceptable attitudes or behaviour in society.

It is the demagogues of our time who may be particularly to blame. MP Kellie Leitch is one apt example that comes to mind. In 2015, Leitch was the front-woman for the Harper government's "barbaric practices tip line," which falsely but implicitly suggested that Canadian Muslims maintain practices which are already illegal under Canadian law, like forced marriages and honour killings. Now as a Conservative leadership candidate, Leitch has upped the ante in her anti-Muslim rhetoric by calling for the screening of "immigrants, refugees, and visitors" for "anti-Canadian values."

Leitch was part of a Harper government which stoked anti-Muslim sentiment for years. For example, Harper consistently played off the danger of extremist Islamic terror, stating in 2011 that "Islamicism" was the biggest threat facing Canada. As one critic put it at the time, "Harper never loses a chance to invoke the spectre of Islamist terrorism."

One high visibility manifestation of Harper's anti-Muslim bias was his decision to block Muslim refugees from receiving asylum in Canada. Another was his attempt to prevent Muslim women from wearing the niqab during citizenship ceremonies – a case which he lost, but which dragged publicly through the courts for months. After seeing Harper repeatedly lose this case in the courts, one commentator authored a piece, "Call the niqab issue what it is -- a shameless play for the bigot vote."

In Quebec, the Parti Quebecois government of Pauline Marois proposed an infamous law in 2013 known as the "Charter of Values" which had a deep anti-Muslim focus. This bill, proposing the banning of many religious symbols – such as the hijab – in the public service, severely exacerbated anti-Muslim currents in the province. Quebecers experienced déjà vu this past fall when conservative Quebec politician François Legault resurrected some of the very same issues relating to Muslim dress.

Many of Canada's Muslims have fled to Canada as witnesses of violence, oppression and terrorism themselves. It is therefore ironic that they are now targeted by conservative politicians in Canada somehow as a "source" of extremism. In fact, given their first-hand experience with oppression and violence, they are often the most ardent defenders of the liberties that many Canadians take for granted. Indeed, Majzoub concludes his statement on the attack by stating, "This massacre does not represent the values of Quebecers and Canadians, [like those] of peace, equality and freedom of belief."

Gestures and words on the part of our politicians do matter. We may never know what drove the attacker to murder six people praying in their Quebec City mosque this past weekend. However, we can be certain that fear-mongering language from our politicians can only be dangerous and counterproductive to a healthy and unified Canadian society.

Like this article? Please chip in to keep stories like these coming.</s>Alexandre Bissonnette, the man police believe opened fire on a Quebec City mosque, will face six charges of first-degree murder and five charges of attempted murder.</s>TORONTO (REUTERS) - A 27-year-old French-Canadian university student was the sole suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque and was charged with the premeditated murder of six people, Canadian authorities said on Monday, in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "a terrorist attack." Court documents identified the gunman in the attack on Sunday evening prayers as Alexandre Bissonnette. He was also charged with five counts of attempted murder, according to court papers.

Among the six men killed were a butcher, a university professor, a pharmacist and an accountant, according to police and Canadian media.

Police declined to discuss possible motives for the shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec. "They consider this a lone wolf situation," a Canadian source familiar with the situation said.

In Washington, US government security experts were leaning to the view that the gunman most likely was motivated by hatred for Muslims, a US government source familiar with official reporting said.

A man of Moroccan descent who had also been arrested was now considered a witness, although his nationality was not immediately known, the Canadian source said.

Trudeau, who has made a point of welcoming refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, told parliament in Ottawa: "Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack." He added a personal message to Canada's 1 million Muslims: "Know that we value you. You enrich our shared country in immeasurable ways. It is your home. Last night's horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians. We will grieve with you. We will defend you. We will love you. And we will stand with you." Somber parliamentarians observed a moment of silence. Trudeau was scheduled to visit Quebec City later on Monday.

The attack was out of character for Quebec City, a city of just over 500,000 which reported just two murders in all of 2015. Mass shootings are rare in Canada, where gun control laws are stricter than in the United States.

In addition to the six killed, five people were critically injured and 12 were treated for minor injuries, a spokeswoman for the Quebec City University Hospital said.

Federal Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters in Ottawa there was no change to "the national terrorism threat level" from medium because "there is no information known to the government of Canada that would lead to a change at this time." US President Donald Trump called Trudeau to express his condolences "and offered to provide any assistance as needed,"said Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmad.

Over the weekend, Trudeau said Canada would welcome refugees, his response to an executive order by Trump on Friday to halt the US refugee program and to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Trump's action, which the president said was "not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe," was widely condemned in the United States and abroad as targeting Muslims.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that the Quebec shooting was "a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nation's safety and security."

A father of four, the owner of a halal butcher near the mosque, was among those killed, said Pamela Sakinah El-hayet, a friend of one of the people at the mosque.

The mosque concierge was killed, as was Ahmed Youness, a 21-year-old student, El-hayet told Reuters. One of El-hayet's friends, Youness' roommate, was in the mosque at the time of the shooting. He was unharmed, she said, but in total shock.

Ali Assafiri, a student at Université Laval, said he had been running late for the evening prayers at the mosque, near the university in the Quebec City area. When he arrived, the mosque had been transformed by police into a crime scene. "Everyone was in shock," Assafiri said by phone. "It was chaos." Université Laval is the oldest French-language university in North America, with 42,500 students.

Vigils were planned for Montreal and Quebec City, the provincial capital, as well as in Edmonton. There was an outpouring of support for the mosque on social media. "Last night's shooting, targeting people of faith during their worship and prayer, is a deplorable attack on all Canadians and our most deeply-held values," said Joe Gunn, executive director of Citizens for Public Justice, a group of Canadian Christians, churches and other religious congregations.

Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. The face-covering, or niqab, became an issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies.</s>QUEBEC — Police have identified the suspect in Sunday's massacre at a Quebec City mosque as 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette.

Court documents show Bissonnette faces six counts of first-degree murder in the attack and five of attempted murder.

Provincial police also say he is the only suspect at this point.

Six people between the ages of 39 and 60 were killed in the shooting at the Centre culturel islamique de Quebec mosque in Quebec City's Sainte-Foy neighbourhood.

Police initially said two suspects had been arrested — but later said further investigation showed only one of them was a suspect.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard have called the shooting a "terrorist attack."
French-Canadian student Alexandre Bissonnette is charged with six counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in relation to an attack on a mosque in Quebec City.