Suspect in Quebec Mosque Attack Charged with Murder of Six People

Prosecutors in Quebec City, Canada, have charged Alexandre Bissonnette, the main suspect in the deadly shooting at a mosque in the city, with the murder of six individuals. According to Reuters, court documents identify the primary suspect as 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette, a French-Canadian student. The report states that Bissonnette appeared in court under heavy security for a brief moment. Prosecutors have indicated that not all documents and evidence are ready, and Bissonnette is scheduled to appear in court again on February 21. A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office stated that the charges currently filed are based on existing evidence. On Sunday evening, January 29, the shooting at the Quebec City mosque left six dead and 12 injured while more than 50 people were present in the mosque. Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard have described the attack as a 'terrorist act.' Canadian media and police report that among the six victims of the Sunday attack were a university professor, a pharmacist, an accountant, and a butcher. In this context, the government of Guinea has also announced that two of its citizens were killed in the Sunday attack at the mosque in Quebec. The police have not yet commented on the possible motive of the main suspect in this attack. Canada and Quebec have generally seen fewer terrorist acts or religious tensions, but in a related incident last summer, an individual or individuals placed a pig's head at the main entrance of the Islamic cultural center in Quebec City during the middle of Ramadan.