Canada mourns Quebec Mosque shooting, reactions pour in globally

The shootings happened during evening prayers at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec shortly before 8 p.m. on Sunday night, in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard both condemned the incident as a terrorist attack.

"It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence," Trudeau said in a statement.

He also offered his sympathies to the victims and his support to Canada's Muslim community. "Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear," he said.

"Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country," he said.

Quebec provincial police Sgt. Christine Coulombe said the men who were killed ranged in the age from 35 to 70.

According to the Journal de Québec, the six dead include two Algerians, a Tunisian, a Moroccan and two others from African countries.

Of the five victims taken to hospital, three remained in intensive care Monday morning.

Thirty-nine people escaped the mosque without injuries.

Police last said that only one of the two people arrested is a suspect. The second person, who was initially taken as a suspect, is considered a witness.

The prime suspect has been identified as Alexandre Bissonnette, a Université Laval student, said  media reports.

Police said patrols have been stepped up at the university as well as at mosques in Quebec City and elsewhere in Quebec.

"For the moment, nothing leads us to believe there are other suspects linked to the event, but you'll understand we're not taking chances and we're making necessary verifications to make sure there aren't any," police spokesperson Christine Coulombe told The Canadian Press.

Patrick Lalonde, assistant director of the Service de Police de la ville de Montreal, said security had been increased around mosques in the area.

Mosque shooting has sent shock wave through Quebec Muslim community, many of whom say they no longer feel safe.

Megmet Deger's own mosque in Dorval, in Montreal's West Island, has been targeted a number of times.

Windows had been broken, someone shot at his vehicle, and recently, he filed a police report when it was stickered by anti-Islamic propaganda.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard described the incident as a "murderous act directed at a specific community."

Despite taking extra security measures, Deger said there's no preparation that will prevent someone from attacking if they want to attack.

The leader of the Association of Muslim and Arabs for a Secular Quebec, Haroun Bouazzi, said he was shocked but not surprised by the attack.

Bouazzi, who himself has been the target of death threats, said Islamaphobia has been a major problem, with mosques across the province subject to vandalism.

"We have been seeing a huge amount of hatred against Muslim minorities here in Quebec," he said. "All of the mosques have been subject of hate," CBC news reports said.

The attack comes after years of heated debate over whether public servants should be allowed to wear religious headwear, which centred around the headscarf worn by Muslim women.

In the past also the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec, the site of Sunday's shooting, had been the target of xenophobic messaging and vandalism.

Last July, in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a gift-wrapped pig's head was left at the front door with a note saying, "bon appétit."

According to CBC News, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum Samer Majhoub said he never imagined anything like this adding, "even in your worst nightmares, we never thought for a fraction of a moment that such a terrible massacre could happen in Canada or Quebec."

Montreal police had already reached out to leaders from the Muslim community to offer any additional support.

Patrol cars were dispatched overnight to visit area mosques as a preventative measure.

Politicians and people around the world also denounced the deadly act.

Justin Trudeau tweeted, “Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families.”

A seven-year-old girl, Bana Alabed who recently fled Syria sent her condolences to the Quebec City Muslim community,

“Dear Quebec, God bless the dead and alive.”

New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio tweeted, “Our prayers tonight are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a terrible attack on a mosque. We must stand together.”

The Twitter accounts for the Black Lives Matter and women's march protest movement tweeted their solidarity with the Muslim community in Quebec City.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)