SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Quebec City police say at least five people are dead and others injured after shots were fired inside one of the city’s mosques Sunday night.
The condition of the wounded individuals is not known at this time.
A few dozen had filed into the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, the first shots were heard just after 8 p.m. local time. Quebec City Police Constable Étienne Doyon said mostly men were gathered at the mosque for evening prayers. The director of the center said at least five people were killed in the attack, however, police have not yet confirmed the death toll of the incident.
Police announced they arrested two suspects from the attack.
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,” the witness said.
“There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father.”
The shooting came just hours after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed immigrants to the country, a sharp contrast to the move President Trump made to the south, signing a sweeping executive order that restricts immigration from seven predominately Muslim nations.
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017