Several hundred people braved snow and cold Sunday in Quebec City to honour the six men shot to death a week earlier while praying at a local mosque.

&quot;No to Islamophobia, Yes to Peace,&quot; &quot;Open Your Heart&quot; and &quot;No to Terrorism&quot; were the messages on some of the signs and banners carried by marchers, many of them Muslim.

The victims included two Algerians, a Tunisian, a Moroccan and two Guineans, all holding Canadian citizenship as well.&nbsp;

They had been attending evening prayers at their mosque when a gunman stormed in and unleashed a barrage of bullets from a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle.

Eight other men were wounded -- three remain hospitalised -- in one of the worst attacks on the Muslim community of a Western nation.

The suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, surrendered to police and was charged with six murders and five attempted murders.

The march Sunday began not far from the mosque, at Laval University, where the presumed killer was a student, before proceeding to the national assembly of the French-speaking province.&nbsp;

In a display of solidarity, organisers paired Muslim and non-Muslim marchers for the procession.

Mohamed Yangi, president of the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, where the mosque was located, said the march provided an opportunity to show a &quot;unified&quot; Quebec.

He said he wanted to work with political leaders to help &quot;eliminate messages of hate.&quot;

Canadian politicians, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have denounced the words or acts of those who target Muslims.

On Friday, at the funeral of three victims, Trudeau blasted radio commentators and politicians who have fanned tensions.

(AFP)

The victims included two Algerians, a Tunisian, a Moroccan and two Guineans, all holding Canadian citizenship as well

Several hundred people braved snow and cold Sunday in Quebec City to honour the six men shot to death a week earlier while praying at a local mosque. "No to Islamophobia, Yes to Peace," "Open Your Heart" and "No to Terrorism" were the messages on some of the signs and banners carried by marchers, many of them Muslim. The victims included two Algerians, a Tunisian, a Moroccan and two Guineans, all holding Canadian citizenship as well. They had been attending evening prayers at their mosque when a gunman stormed in and unleashed a barrage of bullets from a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle. Eight other men were wounded -- three remain hospitalised -- in one of the worst attacks on the Muslim community of a Western nation. The suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, surrendered to police and was charged with six murders and five attempted murders. The march Sunday began not far from the mosque, at Laval University, where the presumed killer was a student, before proceeding to the national assembly of the French-speaking province. In a display of solidarity, organisers paired Muslim and non-Muslim marchers for the procession. Mohamed Yangi, president of the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, where the mosque was located, said the march provided an opportunity to show a "unified" Quebec. He said he wanted to work with political leaders to help "eliminate messages of hate." Canadian politicians, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have denounced the words or acts of those who target Muslims. On Friday, at the funeral of three victims, Trudeau blasted radio commentators and politicians who have fanned tensions. (AFP)

Hundreds march in Quebec City in tribute to mosque shooting victims

In the wake of recent carnage at a Quebec City mosque, the Canadian province&#39;s popular conservative talk radio hosts have come under fire for allegedly spreading intolerance and hate.

Critics say the talk shows fuel a divisive climate that allows extreme ideologies to take root and flourish -- a claim that has taken on heightened relevance after a gunman with far-right sympathies opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing six and wounding eight more.

While not pointing a finger at any particular person or organization, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard emphasized Tuesday that &quot;words do matter.&quot;

Residents of Quebec City tend to vote more conservatively than the rest of the province.&nbsp;

Some say that radio stations like local FM93 and Radio X -- which are respectively the region&#39;s second and third-most listened to in the region, with a combined 30 percent market share -- simply reflect their audience&#39;s views.

But others say the shows stoke dangerous beliefs.

&quot;These are right-wing talk radio stations with little substance but a lot of opinions,&quot; said Stephane Leman-Langlois, a criminologist at Laval University, where the alleged shooter studied.

These &quot;trash radio&quot; stations, as they have become known locally, &quot;contribute to legitimise increasingly adversarial discourse against minorities in general and Muslims in particular,&quot; he told AFP.

They tout &quot;white supremacy, white victimology and repeat over and over that Quebec is in grave danger.&quot;

(AFP)

Critics say the talk shows fuel a divisive climate that allows extreme ideologies to take root and flourish

In the wake of recent carnage at a Quebec City mosque, the Canadian province's popular conservative talk radio hosts have come under fire for allegedly spreading intolerance and hate. Critics say the talk shows fuel a divisive climate that allows extreme ideologies to take root and flourish -- a claim that has taken on heightened relevance after a gunman with far-right sympathies opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing six and wounding eight more. While not pointing a finger at any particular person or organization, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard emphasized Tuesday that "words do matter." Residents of Quebec City tend to vote more conservatively than the rest of the province. Some say that radio stations like local FM93 and Radio X -- which are respectively the region's second and third-most listened to in the region, with a combined 30 percent market share -- simply reflect their audience's views. But others say the shows stoke dangerous beliefs. "These are right-wing talk radio stations with little substance but a lot of opinions," said Stephane Leman-Langlois, a criminologist at Laval University, where the alleged shooter studied. These "trash radio" stations, as they have become known locally, "contribute to legitimise increasingly adversarial discourse against minorities in general and Muslims in particular," he told AFP. They tout "white supremacy, white victimology and repeat over and over that Quebec is in grave danger." (AFP)

Canada 'trash radio' under fire after Quebec mosque attack

A French-Canadian university student was the sole suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque and was charged with the premeditated murder of six people, Canadian authorities said on Monday, in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called &quot;a terrorist attack&quot;.

Court documents identified the gunman in the attack on Sunday evening prayers as Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, and charged him with six murder counts and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon. The slightly-built Bissonnette made a brief appearance in court under tight security wearing a white prison garment and looking downcast.

Prosecutors said all of the evidence was not yet ready and Bissonnette, a student at Universit&eacute; Laval, was set to appear again on February&nbsp;21. No charge was read in court and Bissonnette did not enter a plea.

&quot;The charges laid correspond to the evidence available,&quot; said Thomas Jacques, a representative of the prosecutor&#39;s office, when asked why Bissonnette was not charged with terrorism-related offences.

Among the six men killed were a butcher, a university professor, a pharmacist and an accountant, according to police and Canadian media.

The government of Guinea said in a statement that two of its citizens were among those killed in the mosque attack. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Police declined to discuss possible motives for the shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Qu&eacute;bec.

&quot;They consider this a lone wolf situation,&quot; a Canadian source familiar with the situation said.

In Washington, US&nbsp;government security experts were leaning to the view that the gunman most likely was motivated by hatred for Muslims, a US&nbsp;government source familiar with official reporting said.

This contrasts with&nbsp;White House spokesman Sean Spicer, who on Monday told reporters that the Quebec shooting was &quot;a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nation&#39;s safety and security&quot;.

Spicer never explained the supposed link&nbsp;between the safety risk posed by the&nbsp;suspect of this mass shooting,&nbsp;a white 27-year-old who is not a refugee or immigrant, and a travel&nbsp;ban&nbsp;on Muslims.

&nbsp;

Trudeau, who has made a point of welcoming refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, told parliament in Ottawa: &quot;Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack.&quot;

&quot;Last night this community experienced something that no community should ever have to know: Unspeakable cruelty and violence perpetrated on those who came together in friendship and in faith,&quot; Trudeau said later at a vigil attended by hundreds who braved frigid temperatures in Quebec City.

He added a personal message to Canada&#39;s one&nbsp;million Muslims: &quot;We stand with you. We love you and we support you and we will always defend and protect your right to gather together and pray today and every day,&quot; Trudeau added.

The attack was out of character for Quebec City, a city of just over 500,000 which reported just two murders in all of 2015. Mass shootings are rare in Canada, where gun control laws are stricter than in the United States.

Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. The face-covering, or niqab, became an issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies.

In addition to the six killed, five people were critically injured and 12 were treated for minor injuries, a spokeswoman for the Quebec City University Hospital said.

Federal Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters in Ottawa there was no change to &quot;the national terrorism threat level&quot; from medium because &quot;there is no information known to the government of Canada that would lead to a change at this time&quot;.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump called Trudeau to express his condolences &quot;and offered to provide any assistance as needed,&quot; said Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmad.

Trump made no statement of solidarity for the Muslim community. The suspect liked &quot;Marie le Pen&quot; and &quot;Donald Trump&quot; on Facebook:

&nbsp;

<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="467" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsue.gardnerpeterson%2Fposts%2F10154267782833321&amp;width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe>

Over the weekend, Trudeau said Canada would welcome refugees, his response to an executive order by Trump on Friday to halt the US&nbsp;refugee program and to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Trump&#39;s action, which the president <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/rudy-giuliani-told-trump-how-to-make-muslim-ban-legal-11841">falsely claimed&nbsp;</a>was &quot;not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe,&quot; was widely condemned in the United States and abroad as targeting Muslims.

&nbsp;

Father of four killed

A father of four, the owner of a halal butcher near the mosque, was among those killed, said Pamela Sakinah El-hayet, a friend of one of the people at the mosque.

The mosque concierge was killed, as was Ahmed Youness, a 21-year-old student, El-hayet told Reuters. One of El-hayet&rsquo;s friends, Youness&rsquo; roommate, was in the mosque at the time of the shooting. He was unharmed, she said, but in total shock.

A man of Moroccan descent who had also been arrested was now considered a witness, although his nationality was not immediately known, a Canadian source familiar with the situation said. Fox News, seemingly because of the North African&nbsp;country of origin,&nbsp;framed&nbsp;the witness as a suspect:&nbsp;&quot;Suspect in Quebec mosque terror attack was of Morrocan origin.&quot;

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Suspect in Quebec mosque terror attack was of Moroccan origin, reports show <a href="https://t.co/oRzxGHEXDm">https://t.co/oRzxGHEXDm</a> <a href="https://t.co/aEsEtccMvi">pic.twitter.com/aEsEtccMvi</a>
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Ali Assafiri, a student at Universit&eacute; Laval, said he had been running late for the evening prayers at the mosque, near the university in the Quebec City area. When he arrived, the mosque had been transformed by police into a crime scene. &quot;Everyone was in shock,&quot; Assafiri said by phone. &quot;It was chaos.&quot;

Vigils were planned for Montreal and Quebec City, the provincial capital, as well as in Edmonton. There was an outpouring of support for the mosque on social media.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

Alexandre Bissonnette is a student at Universit? Laval and is set to appear before the court on February 21, prosecutors said

A French-Canadian university student was the sole suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque and was charged with the premeditated murder of six people, Canadian authorities said on Monday, in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "a terrorist attack". Court documents identified the gunman in the attack on Sunday evening prayers as Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, and charged him with six murder counts and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon. The slightly-built Bissonnette made a brief appearance in court under tight security wearing a white prison garment and looking downcast. Prosecutors said all of the evidence was not yet ready and Bissonnette, a student at Université Laval, was set to appear again on February 21. No charge was read in court and Bissonnette did not enter a plea. "The charges laid correspond to the evidence available," said Thomas Jacques, a representative of the prosecutor's office, when asked why Bissonnette was not charged with terrorism-related offences. Among the six men killed were a butcher, a university professor, a pharmacist and an accountant, according to police and Canadian media. The government of Guinea said in a statement that two of its citizens were among those killed in the mosque attack. Police declined to discuss possible motives for the shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec. "They consider this a lone wolf situation," a Canadian source familiar with the situation said. In Washington, US government security experts were leaning to the view that the gunman most likely was motivated by hatred for Muslims, a US government source familiar with official reporting said. This contrasts with White House spokesman Sean Spicer, who on Monday told reporters that the Quebec shooting was "a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nation's safety and security". Spicer never explained the supposed link between the safety risk posed by the suspect of this mass shooting, a white 27-year-old who is not a refugee or immigrant, and a travel ban on Muslims. Trudeau, who has made a point of welcoming refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, told parliament in Ottawa: "Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack." "Last night this community experienced something that no community should ever have to know: Unspeakable cruelty and violence perpetrated on those who came together in friendship and in faith," Trudeau said later at a vigil attended by hundreds who braved frigid temperatures in Quebec City. He added a personal message to Canada's one million Muslims: "We stand with you. We love you and we support you and we will always defend and protect your right to gather together and pray today and every day," Trudeau added. The attack was out of character for Quebec City, a city of just over 500,000 which reported just two murders in all of 2015. Mass shootings are rare in Canada, where gun control laws are stricter than in the United States. Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. The face-covering, or niqab, became an issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies. In addition to the six killed, five people were critically injured and 12 were treated for minor injuries, a spokeswoman for the Quebec City University Hospital said. Federal Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters in Ottawa there was no change to "the national terrorism threat level" from medium because "there is no information known to the government of Canada that would lead to a change at this time". US President Donald Trump called Trudeau to express his condolences "and offered to provide any assistance as needed," said Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmad. Trump made no statement of solidarity for the Muslim community. The suspect liked "Marie le Pen" and "Donald Trump" on Facebook: Over the weekend, Trudeau said Canada would welcome refugees, his response to an executive order by Trump on Friday to halt the US refugee program and to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Trump's action, which the president falsely claimed was "not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe," was widely condemned in the United States and abroad as targeting Muslims. Father of four killed A father of four, the owner of a halal butcher near the mosque, was among those killed, said Pamela Sakinah El-hayet, a friend of one of the people at the mosque. The mosque concierge was killed, as was Ahmed Youness, a 21-year-old student, El-hayet told Reuters. One of El-hayet’s friends, Youness’ roommate, was in the mosque at the time of the shooting. He was unharmed, she said, but in total shock. A man of Moroccan descent who had also been arrested was now considered a witness, although his nationality was not immediately known, a Canadian source familiar with the situation said. Fox News, seemingly because of the North African country of origin, framed the witness as a suspect: "Suspect in Quebec mosque terror attack was of Morrocan origin." Suspect in Quebec mosque terror attack was of Moroccan origin, reports show https://t.co/oRzxGHEXDm pic.twitter.com/aEsEtccMvi — Fox News (@FoxNews) January 30, 2017 × Ali Assafiri, a student at Université Laval, said he had been running late for the evening prayers at the mosque, near the university in the Quebec City area. When he arrived, the mosque had been transformed by police into a crime scene. "Everyone was in shock," Assafiri said by phone. "It was chaos." Vigils were planned for Montreal and Quebec City, the provincial capital, as well as in Edmonton. There was an outpouring of support for the mosque on social media. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Canadian mosque shooting suspect charged with murdering six people