Justice
What We Know About the Quebec Shooting
January 30th 2017
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Six people were shot dead and eight others were injured after a gunman, identified by authorities as 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette, opened fire inside a mosque in Quebec City, Canada, on Sunday night.
Here's what we know about the shooting.
- Around 8 p.m., Quebec City police responded to calls about a shooting at the mosque, which had been recently vandalized with racist epithets and symbols, including a swastika painted on its door, The New York Times reported.
- The suspected shooter, Bissonnette, was arrested and charged with six counts of murder on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
- Police initially arrested two individuals, Bissonnette and Mohamed Belkhadir — who was subsequently released after law enforcement determined that he was a witness to the crime. There are currently no other suspects.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau characterized the shooting as a "terrorist attack on Muslims" during a press conference Monday.
- Bissonnette had a history of engaging in online harassment and making discriminatory comments against foreigners in chat rooms and on social media, Quebec newspaper La Presse reported.
- Law enforcement have not yet determined the motive behind the attack.
- The attack came one day after Trudeau expressed sympathy for refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East, welcoming them to Canada.