Quebec mosque shooter who killed six people in 2017 jailed for life

Alexandre Bissonnette arrives at the court house in Quebec
REUTERS
Jacob Jarvis8 February 2019

A man who shot dead six members of a Quebec City mosque in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.

He could be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 35 years.

Alexandre Bissonnette, 29, pled guilty last year to six counts of first-degree murder as well as six counts of attempted murder for the attack.

More than 50 people were at the Islamic Cultural Centre when he began shooting during evening prayers.

Those who monitor extremist groups in Quebec described the French-Canadian university student as someone who took extreme nationalist positions at Laval University and on social media.

Justice Francois Huot said a life sentence with eligibility for parole between 35 and 42 years into sentence is fair and just.

He rejected calls by prosecutors to impose the harshest sentence handed down since Canada eliminated the death penalty.

Bissonnette's mental health issues, including an obsession with suicide, played a role in the shooting and influenced his sentence, the judge said.

The January 2017 shooting had been described by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced as a terrorist attack.

However, the judge said the shooter's actions in entering the mosque at the end of prayers and shooting congregants were not a terrorist attack, but motivated by prejudice, particularly toward Muslim immigrants.

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