Alexandre Bissonnette, the 27-year-old sole suspect in the shooting at a Quebec mosque on Sunday night, local time, has been charged with six counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder after he entered the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre and opened fire, killing six people and injuring several others.
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The shooting had come barely a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada. [sic]" His statement was in response to US President Donald Trump barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.
'Known to activists'
Bissonnette has been described as being "nerdy", and had been "unfortunately known to several activists in Quebec City for his pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist identity positions at Université Laval and on social networks," according to a Facebook group, whose name translates to "Welcome to Refugees – Quebec City."
Bissonnette's former high school classmate Simon de Billy described him as a "nerdy outcast." He was quoted by news agencies as saying: "He was an avid reader, knew a lot about history and about current issues, current politics, those kinds of topics. He was just a bit of a loner, always with his twin brother, didn't have any friends."
De Billy added: "He wasn't physically strong or imposing, and probably got a bit of a hard time, was probably not taken seriously. He would be kind of made fun of, the butt of the jokes."
No terror charges
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had, in a statement, said: "It was with tremendous shock, sadness and anger that I heard of this evening's tragic and fatal shooting at the Centre cultural Islamique de Québec located in the Ste-Foy neighbourhood of the city of Québec. We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge."
However, Bissonnette has not been slapped with any terror charges, yet. Prosecutor Thomas Jacques was quoted by reporters as saying that Bissonnette was charged as per the evidence that was available at hand. "But you'll understand that the events happened very recently. The investigation is ongoing," added Jacques.
