JUST IN: Video shows police in Quebec City responding to reports of deadly shooting at Mosque. https://t.co/OfIp2Nx1u9 pic.twitter.com/KPeDuZD4V4
— ABC News (@ABC) January 30, 2017
UPDATE: The suspect in the shooting has been apprehended and identified as 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette
This ABC News clip shows the immediate police response outside a mosque in Quebec City, where a gunman entered the building during prayer service and opened fire. Forty worshipers were said to be in attendance at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center when the massacre began.
According to the mosque president Mohamed Yangui (who spoke with Reuters), at least five people were killed. Several other worshipers sustained injuries and have been transported to nearby hospitals. Yangui expressed anguish to reporters: “Why is this happening here? This is barbaric.”
Authorities initially believed at least three gunmen were involved in the attack, but it has since been determined only one gunman was involved. Fox News reports that at least one of the gunmen was carrying an AK-47 rifle, which was confirmed by Canada’s Le Solel outlet. ABC News reveals that two suspects have been taken into custody, although details remain scarce at this time.
The Canadian Broadcast Corporation reports that this particular mosque has been the target of multiple xenophobic attacks in recent years. In June 2016, someone left a pig’s head outside the cultural center. Vandals also attacked the mosque and spray painted racial slurs on its walls in 2014.