Six people have been killed and another 18 wounded after a gunmen opened fire at a mosque in Québec City, in an act condemned as a “terrorist attack” by Canada’s prime minister.
More than 50 people were at the Québec City Islamic cultural center, also known as the Grande Mosquée de Québec, for evening prayers on Sunday when shooting erupted in the two-storey building.
Two men have been arrested, but police later said that only one of them was considered a suspect. Initial reports suggested a third suspect was still on the run, but police said they were no longer looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.
In a news conference on Monday morning, Québec province and city officials declined to provide any details about the two men who were arrested.
Québec City police inspector Denis Turcotte said that one of the menhad been arrested on the scene of the attack. The second was captured about an hour later after calling into 911 and identifying himself as involved, sharing his location with authorities and letting them know he was armed.
“Nothing indicates to us that there was anyone else involved,” said Martin Plante, a superintendent with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Plante added that the suspects were previously “unknown” to police.
Those who died ranged in age from 35 to 60. Another five people remain in hospital – several of them in intensive care – while 13 people have been released, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Speaking in parliament, prime minister Justin Trudeau said that the victims were targeted simply because of their religion and spoke directly to the more than 1 million Muslims who live in Canada, saying, “We are with you.”
“Thirty-six million hearts are breaking with yours,” Trudeau said. “Know that we value you.”
Witnesses reported seeing the gunman dressed in black and wearing a ski mask walking into the mosque and opening fire. One watched as he began shooting at “everything that was moving”, he told the Globe and Mail. “It was someone who mastered weapons because it was calm … He killed and he killed. It was really horrible.”
The witness, who was lying on the ground near the front of the mosque, said the gunman had emptied his weapon before leaving. “I’m shocked,” he said. “We thought that here, we were in a safe city, a safe country. But unfortunately, that’s not the case.”
Trudeau described the shooting as an act of terrorism. “We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge,” he said in a statement. “While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, 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.”
Phillippe Couillard, the premier of Québec, described Sunday’s shooting as a “murderous act directed at a specific community” and said solidarity rallies would be held across Québec on Monday. “Québec categorically rejects this barbaric violence.”
The shooting came amid protests and confusion around the world after Donald Trump enacted a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.
Asked if Trump’s actions influenced the attack, Couillard said no, but added: “We are obviously in a world where people tend to divide themselves rather than unite themselves”.
Trump called Trudeau on Monday to express his condolences and offer assistance.
The mosque’s president, Mohamed Yangui – who was not inside the mosque when the shooting occurred – said he had received frantic calls from people at evening prayers. “Why is this happening here? This is barbaric,” he said.
By Sunday night, city police said the site had been secured and all occupants evacuated. A large security cordon was set up around the site. Witnesses reported seeing heavily armed police entering the mosque after the shooting.
Fighting back tears at an early morning press conference, the city’s mayor, Régis Labeaume, said Québec was in mourning. “I want to express my revolt to this villainous crime,” he added. “To the Muslim community, our neighbours, our co-citizens, who count on our support and solidarity, I want to say: we love you.”
The mosque has been targeted before. In June, a pig’s head was left there during the holy month of Ramadan. Weeks later, an Islamophobic letter was distributed in the vicinity.
Yangui told the Edmonton Journal the mosque had not received any threats recently. “We have a very good relationship with the neighbours, with the community,” he said. “There’s mutual respect – and now today we have this dramatic event.”
Across Canada and Québec, most are welcoming towards immigrants and religious diversity. But recent years have also seen Québec host a long-simmering debate over race and religious accommodation; in October, the province began parliamentary hearings on proposed legislation that would ban anyone wearing a face covering from receiving public services in the province.
Police said on Monday that security had been increased at all mosques across the province.
Many across Canada were still reeling from the heightened tensions in the US after Donald Trump’s travel ban.
Trudeau responded to the ban with a tweet: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”
The tweet was followed by a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at the Toronto airport in 2015, one of nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees who have arrived in Canada in the past year.