| Quebec City mosque shooting | |
|---|---|
 Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in June 2022 | |
  Mosque Quebec City mosque shooting (Quebec City)  Quebec City mosque shooting (Quebec)  Quebec City mosque shooting (Canada) | |
| Location | Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Canada |
| Coordinates | 46°46′41″N 71°18′19″W / 46.77806°N 71.30528°W |
| Date | January 29, 2017 7:55 p.m. (EST) |
| Target | Muslim worshippers at a mosque |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, domestic terrorism, hate crime |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 6 |
| Injured | 19 (5 by gunfire) |
| Perpetrator | Alexandre Bissonnette |
| Motive | Islamophobia, xenophobia[1] |
| Verdict | Pleaded guilty
|
| Sentence | Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years |
| Convictions | 6 counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted murder |
| Part of a series on |
| Terrorism |
|---|
| Part of a series on |
| Islamophobia |
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The Quebec City mosque shooting (French: Attentat de la grande mosquée de Québec) was an attack by a single gunman on the evening of January 29, 2017, at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada. Six worshippers were killed and five others seriously injured after evening prayers when the gunman entered the prayer hall shortly before 8:00 pm and opened fire for about two minutes with a 9mm Glock pistol.[2] Approximately 40 people were reported present at the time of the shooting.
The perpetrator, 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette, pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.[3] On February 8, 2019, Bissonnette was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 40 years.[4][5] Upon appeal, the Court of Appeal of Quebec found 40 years without parole to be unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment, adjusting the sentence to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.[6] Quebec prosecutors sought to reinstate the original sentence with an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.[7] The decision was upheld on May 27, 2022,[8] meaning Bissonnette will be eligible for parole in 2042.[9]
The shooting prompted widespread discussion of anti-muslim bigotry, racism, and right-wing terrorism in Canada.[2] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the shooting a terrorist attack,[10][11] but Bissonnette was not charged with terrorism provision of the Criminal Code.[12] The decision to not charge Bissonnette with terrorism was criticized by Canadian Muslim groups.[13] On the fourth anniversary of the attack, the Trudeau government announced plans to commemorate the day of the attack as The National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec Mosque Attack and of Action Against Islamophobia.[14]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
guardian-apr2018was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Montpetit, Jonathan (April 25, 2019). "Quebec City Mosque Shooting". Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ "Quebec: Alexandre Bissonnette charged with six murders". Al Jazeera. January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ The Queen v. Bissonnette, Canlii (Quebec Superior Court 2019-02-08).
- ^ Peritz, Ingrid (February 8, 2019). "Quebec City mosque shooter Bissonnette sentenced to life in prison, no parole for 40 years". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ Bissonnette v. The Queen (Court of Appeal of Quebec 2020-11-26), Text.
- ^ Laframboise, Kalina (January 15, 2021). "Quebec to seek leave to appeal mosque shooter's sentence at Supreme Court". Global News. Canada. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Canada, Supreme Court of (January 1, 2001). "Supreme Court of Canada – SCC Case Information – Search". decisions.scc-csc.ca. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ "Quebec mosque disappointed with ruling allowing shooter to seek parole after 25 years | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Kassam and Larteywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kassam, Ashifa; Lartey, Jamiles (January 30, 2017). "Québec City mosque shooting: six dead as Trudeau condemns 'terrorist attack'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
Witnesses reported seeing two men dressed in black and wearing ski masks walking into the mosque and opening fire. One watched as one of the gunmen began shooting at "everything that was moving"
- ^ "Why accused in Quebec City mosque shooting isn't likely to face terrorism charges". CBC News. February 2, 2017. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ Mitrovica, Andrew. "Canada's terror double standards". Al Jazeera. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ "Quebec to seek leave to appeal mosque shooter's sentence at Supreme Court". CTV News. Canada. January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.