Suspects in Quebec mosque shooting named
QUEBEC CITY (AP) – The Latest on the deadly shooting at a Quebec City mosque (all times local):
12:25 p.m.
Quebec police now say just one of the individuals arrested in connection with Canadian mosque attack is considered a suspect, while the other man is considered a witness.
Police didn’t say which one remains the suspect in the Sunday night attack which killed six people and injured more than a dozen others.
Court clerk Isabelle Ferland earlier identified Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed el Khadir as the suspects
___
12:05 p.m.
Iran is condemning the deadly shooting at a Quebec mosque, calling it “inhumane and criminal.”
State media quotes Franian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying the attack shows that “terrorism is not confined to one region or a few countries.”
Shiite-majority Iran is helping Iraq and Syria battle the Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group. But Iran has also provided aid to groups that Western nations consider terrorist organizations, like the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas.
___
12:00 p.m.
The mayor of Paris says that the lights on the Eiffel Tower will be switched off at midnight to honor the victims of the attack on a Canadian mosque in which six people died.
In a tweet Monday, Anne Hidalgo says the action would send a “fraternal message to everyone in Quebec and in Canada.”
The lights on the iconic Paris monument will be turned off from midnight.
___
11:45 a.m.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express condolences about the Quebec City mosque attack that killed six.
Trudeau’s office says Trump expressed his condolences to Trudeau and the Canadian people and offered to provide any assistance needed.
___
11:15 a.m.
A Quebec court clerk has confirmed the names of the suspects in the attack on a Canadian mosque in which six people died. Court clerk Isabelle Ferland identified Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed el Khadir as the suspects. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says the attack is an attack on all Quebecers.
___
9:15 a.m.
Quebec police say one suspect was arrested at the scene of the attack on a Canadian mosque in which six people died and the second suspect called 911 from his car, saying he was armed but wanted to cooperate with police.
Denis Turcotte of Quebec police says the second suspect stopped and said he was waiting for police to come and get him.
He was arrested near Ile d’Orleans around 9 p.m.
___
8:50 a.m.
Pope Francis has condemned the Quebec mosque attack and is calling for mutual respect among people of different faiths.
Francis conveyed his condolences in writing and in person to the archbishop of Quebec, Cardinal Gerald LaCroix, who was in Rome on Monday and returned immediately to Canada.
In the telegram, Francis says he is praying for those killed and injured, as well as those who responded to the bloodshed. It says “The Holy Father firmly condemns the violence that engenders such suffering, and begs the Lord for the gift of mutual respect and peace.”
In a separate statement, the Vatican’s office of relations with Muslims is condemning the act of “unheard of violence,” saying a massacre at a mosque “violated the sacredness of human life and the respect owed to a community in prayer in a place of worship.”
___
8:40 a.m.
A hospital now says five people are in critical condition following a shooting at a Quebec City mosque in which six people were killed.
University of Quebec Hospital Centre spokeswoman Genevieve Dupuis says 12 others suffered minor injuries in Sunday night’s shooting, which Canada’s prime minister has called an act of terrorism.
___
5:45 a.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman is condemning the “despicable” attack at a Quebec City mosque.
Spokesman Steffen Seibert said the German leader was shocked by the shooting during Sunday evening prayers that left six people dead.
Seibert said Monday: “If the killers intended to set people of different faiths against each other or to divide them, they must not and will not succeed in that. We stand in mourning beside the Muslim community in Quebec.”
___
5:15 a.m.
French President Francois Hollande has condemned the “odious attack” on a Quebec mosque and offered support for Canada’s leaders.
Hollande, whose country has suffered a string of Islamic extremist attacks, said in a statement that “it was the Quebecois spirit of peace and openness that the terrorists wanted to harm” in Sunday’s attack.
Hollande, whose country has suffered a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks, said “France stands at the sides of the victims and their families,” and offered solidarity for Quebec Prime Minister Philippe Couillard and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Six people were killed and eight were injured in the shooting at a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers. Authorities reported two arrests.
___
1:45 a.m.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says there will be solidarity rallies across Quebec on Monday and says the province’s people will all be together to express horror.
Couillard says that like elsewhere in the world Quebec has been hit with terrorism. He says it is an act of murder against a specific community but added he doesn’t want to talk about the motive until it’s known.
Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume appeared visibly shaken at the early morning press conference. He says no person should have to pay with his or her life for their race or color.
___
12:55 a.m.
Quebec police say six people were killed and another eight were wounded in a shooting at a mosque.
Christine Coulombe, the Quebec Provincial Police spokeswoman, says some of the wounded were gravely injured. She says the dead were approximately 35 to 70 years of age. Thirty-nine people were in the mosque at the time of the attack. Two people have been arrested.
She says one person was arrested at the scene and the other nearby in d’Orleans.
___
12:45 a.m.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau characterized a shooting at a Quebec City mosque as a “terrorist attack on Muslims.” Trudeau said in a statement that it is “heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence” and he vowed that Canadian law enforcement “will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.”
Five people were killed in the shooting during evening prayers Sunday, according to Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre President Mohamed Yangui. He said the shooting happened in the men’s section of the mosque. He said five males had died and he worried that some were children.
Never miss another Facebook post from WISH-TV
