Trudeau joins vigil for mosque shooting victims
CANADA’S Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined thousands at a peace vigil hours after the suspect in a deadly mosque shooting made his first court appearance.
The leader and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau laid flowers at a makeshift memorial for the six men killed and 19 wounded during prayers at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre. The vigil in Quebec City was one of a series of solidarity events across Canada.
Earlier, Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27-year-old French Canadian student, appeared in the city’s court charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five of attempted murder.
Police said he acted alone and was not known to officers. His social media postings included support for France’s far-Right politician Marine Le Pen. More than 50 people were at the Islamic cultural centre when Sunday night’s shootings began. Mohamed Labidi, vice president of the mosque, said the victims were shot in the back. They included Khaled Belkacemi, 60, a professor of soil and agri-food engineering at Laval University, the same institution where the suspect is an anthropology and political science student. Also among the dead, aged between 39 and 60, were businessmen and a butcher.
Five victims remained in hospital, two of whom were critical. Mr Labidi said: “It’s a very, very big tragedy for us. We have a sadness we cannot express.”
Bissonnette was arrested in his car and did not enter a plea in court. He wore a white prisoner jump suit, with his hands and feet shackled.
Mr Trudeau told the large crowd at the vigil: “Last night this community experienced something that no community should ever have to know: unspeakable cruelty and violence perpetrated on those who came together in friendship and in faith. We stand with you. We love you and we support you.”