Quebec mosque shooting suspect charged with murdering six people #
On January 29, 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27-year-old Canadian man, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in connection with the Quebec City mosque shooting. The shooting occurred on January 29, 2017, at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, where six people were killed and 19 others were injured.
Bissonnette, who was a student at Laval University, was arrested at the scene of the shooting and was later charged with the crimes. He was accused of entering the mosque during evening prayers and opening fire on the worshippers, killing six people and injuring many others.
The victims of the shooting were:
- Azzeddine Soufiane, 57
- Abdelkrim Hassane, 41
- Khaled Belkacemi, 56
- Aboubaker Thabti, 41
- Mamadou Tanou Barry, 41
- Ibrahima Barry, 39
Bissonnette's motives for the shooting were reportedly driven by anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments. He was known to have expressed far-right and white supremacist views online, and had been involved in online discussions about immigration and Islam.
In 2019, Bissonnette was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 40 years.
The Quebec City mosque shooting was a devastating event that shocked the country and sparked widespread outrage and condemnation. It was also a wake-up call for many Canadians about the rise of Islamophobia and hate crimes in the country.