Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard described it as "barbaric violence" and saying "the government is mobilized to ensure the security of the Quebec population." Six people ranging in age from 35 to about 70 were killed and eight more injured, including several children, during the attack at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec. The Collectif Canadien Anti-Islamophobie said on Twitter Sunday night that the Quebec City attack was preventable but nothing was done. Friends and bystanders around the security parameter stood huddled in the cold, incredulous, unable to believe such violence could occur in Quebec City, a city with a notoriously low crime rate. Security beefed up in other cities

South of the Canadian border, the New York Police Department said that it was monitoring the situation in Quebec and has directed that "special attention" would be given to all New York City mosques and other houses of worship, according to a statement. Last June, worshippers at the same mosque discovered the severed head of a pig left in front of one of the doors, wrapped in cellophane with bows and ribbon, and a card that said “bonne appétit.”

Three weeks later, an Islamophobic letter titled "What is the most serious: a pig's head or a genocide" was distributed in the vicinity.
A gunman opens fire at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada, during evening prayers. At least five people were killed. Two suspects were apprehended; one was later released.