Mosque Shooting Suspect Is College Student, 27

Alexandre Bissonnette is charged with six counts of murder
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 30, 2017 6:43 PM CST
Mosque Shooting Suspect Is College Student, 27
Alexandre Bissonnette is escorted to a van after appearing in court in Quebec City.   (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)

Authorities in Canada think Sunday night's mosque shooting that left six people dead is a "lone wolf situation," reports Reuters, and they think they've got their shooter: Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, appeared in court Monday and was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder, reports CBC News. So far, he does not face any terrorism-related charges. Bissonnette attended Laval University, near the Quebec City mosque, and studied political science and anthropology. The AP reports that he was known to espouse "far-right nationalist views" online, and the Toronto Globe and Mail reports that this didn't begin until March when nationalist leader Marine Le Pen visited Quebec City.

"I wrote him off as a xenophobe," says a fellow Laval student. "He was enthralled by a borderline racist nationalist movement." A member of a refugee advocacy group says Bissonnette had become a familiar name to those who monitor extremist groups. He was "unfortunately known to many activists in Quebec for taking nationalist, pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions at Laval University and on social media," François Deschamps wrote on the Facebook page of the group Welcome to Refugees, per the Montreal Gazette. Five victims of the shooting remained hospitalized as of Monday evening. (More Quebec City stories.)

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