A 27-year-old Canadian student, Alexandre Bissonnette, said to be a supporter of U.S. president, Donald Trump, has been named as the sole suspect in the killing of six men at a Quebec City mosque, in an apparent terrorist attack.
The attack came on the heels of the announcement by the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, welcoming Muslim refugees to the country, including those from the seven countries affected by Trump’s travel ban.
Trudeau had also criticised Trump’s “extreme vetting” immigration policy
Bissonnette, 27, was arrested alongside Moroccan-Canadian, Mohamed el Khadir, on Sunday night, after six men were shot dead at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center during evening prayers.
On Monday afternoon, Sûreté du Québec, the investigating police force, confirmed one of the men was no longer facing charges.
A source later told Reuters police were looking at Bissonnette as a “lone wolf”.
The political sciences and anthropology student, who is from the affluent Quebec City suburb Cap-Rouge, will appear in court sometime on Tuesday.
Other students described him as a pro-Trump loner, but a timid man, who didn’t seem capable of committing an act of terror.
Six men, aged between 39 and 60, were killed at the mosque and five remain in a critical condition in intensive care at Quebec City’s Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus after the killings on Sunday night.
Twelve others had less serious injuries and another 39 escaped from the mosque unharmed. Among the victims were a government IT worker, the mosque’s concierge, a halal butcher who worked next door and an Algerian-Canadian professor from the university where Bissonnette is enrolled.
They were shot as they observed evening prayers at the mosque.
El Khadir was picked up by police at the mosque, but Bissonnette fled in his Mitsubishi and was arrested in nearby Ile d’Orleans about 20 minutes later, after calling the police, local Le Soleil reports.
Police found two rifles and an AK-47 in the car.
Reports say police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the attack, which is being treated as an act of terror.
A classmate told DailyMail.com that Bissonnette was pro-Donald Trump and that they had engaged in political arguments about the president.
“Based on the conversations that I had with him during the American presidential campaign, it’s true he is pro-Trump,” the student, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
He added that he Bissonnette had “never demonstrated” a violent side but that he didn’t “fit in” among peers.
“Yes, he was conservative in the political sense, but despite the profound differences between us, he never showed or suggested that political violence or terrorism was something he was capable of. He didn’t fit in well at university.”
The shooting came as protests erupted across the US in response to Trump’s immigration ban against seven Muslim-majority countries, which Trudeau condemned earlier on Sunday.
Prime Minister Trudeau gave an emotional speech at Ottawa’s House of Commons, on Monday, telling peers: “Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack.”
The parliament observed a minute’s silence to honour the victims. The prime minister also issued a message of support to the country’s Muslim community.
“Last night’s horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians.
“We will grieve with you. We will defend you. We will love you. And we will stand with you,” he said.
President Trump called Trudeau to offer his condolences, Monday afternoon.
“This is another senseless act of violence that cannot be tolerated. We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms.
“It’s a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to our nation’s safety and security.
“We are of course praying for those injured in the attack, and are keeping in close contact with officials in Quebec and Canada,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.
Bissonnette 