SIX people were killed and eight wounded in what politicians are calling a terrorist attack, where two gunmen opened fire in a mosque in Canada during evening prayers.
According to witnesses cited by Radio-Canada, two men entered the Québec City Islamic Cultural Centre and opened fire on more than 50 worshippers inside.
One was armed with an AK-47, a prohibited weapon, La Presse reported.
A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, told CBC’s French-language service Radio-Canada that two masked individuals entered the mosque.
“It seemed to me that they had a Quebecois accent. They started to fire, and as they shot they yelled, ‘Allahu Akbar!’ The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head,” said the witness.
“There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father.”
Hamid Nadji, speaking to a friend who was inside the mosque, told the Montreal Gazette the scene was a “carnage.”
“From what we heard over the phone, one person had a weapon discharged in his face because he had wanted to jump on the man to stop him. And three others died because they wanted to catch the man,” Nadji said.
One of the gunmen left the mosque to reload and came back. He then ran out of bullets a second time, reloaded and returned for a third round of shooting, Nadji told the Gazette.
Two people have been arrested over the shooting, a Québec police spokesman said, and remain in custody. One was apprehended after a chase that ended near l’île d’Orléans, near the bridge which connects the island to the mainland.
Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Christine Coulombe said that some of the wounded were gravely injured. She said the deceased were approximately 35 to 70 years of age. Thirty-nine people were unharmed. More than 50 were at the mosque at the time of the attack.
Québec Premier Philippe Couillard said in French on his Twitter account that the mosque attack was an “act of terrorism”.
“Québec categorically rejects this barbaric violence. Our solidarity is with victims, the injured and their families,” Couillard said, adding that police were making their priority to fight “terrorism” to ensure the safety of its people.
Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre President Mohamed Yangui reported the number of dead late Sunday in a telephone call from the provincial capital.
Yangui said the shooting happened in the men’s section of the mosque. He said at least five males had died and he worried that some were children. He said he wasn’t at the centre when the attack occurred.
Quebec Provincial Police later stated the death was six, with eight wounded.
“We are sad for the families,” Yangui said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard characterised the attack as a terrorist act.
“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge,” Trudeau 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.
“Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.”
Earlier, police put up a security perimeter around the mosque and declined to comment to reporters about the incident.
“Why is this happening here? This is barbaric,” said the mosque’s president, Yangui said.
“I managed to talk to people inside. They told me there were at least five deaths and that the person managed to reload his weapon at least three times.”
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