Montreal - At least five people were shot dead by gunmen during
evening prayers at a mosque in Quebec City in Canada's
French-speaking province of Quebec on Sunday, said Mohamed Yangui,
the president of mosque.
"This is deplorable," Mohamed Yangui told dpa on the phone. "I just
got a call from the morgue asking me whether I could come in to
identify five bodies."
Quebec City police confirmed the shooting but were yet to confirm the
number of fatalities. An unknown number of people were also feared
injured in the shooting in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood.
According to local broadcaster Radio Canada, one suspect was
arrested, while another was still being pursued by police.
The reason for the attack is not yet known.
Yangui said mosque administrators had not been able to get in. There
was a large police perimeter around the Islamic Cultural Centre, he
said.
"These people go to their prayers peacefully every day but now some
of them will never come back home from their prayers," Yangui said in
French. "I'm shocked, I don't have words to describe how I'm
feeling."
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard tweeted that the province was
mobilizing to assure the safety of Quebec City residents.
"Quebec categorically reject this barbaric violence," Couillard
wrote. "We offer our solidarity to the loved ones of the victims and
the injured and their families."
The same mosque was targeted last June when someone left a pig's head
on its doorstep.