Mayor Regis Labeaume said the Jan. 29, 2017 attack on the centre left families, a community and an entire city in mourning when six Muslim men were gunned down shortly after the end of evening prayers.Labeaume says the people of Quebec City want to live together in harmony, a sentiment reinforced by another recent tragedy, a sword attack that left two people dead and five injured in the city’s historic district on Halloween night.
The monument is composed of several elements that symbolize the meeting of different communities, with the part near the mosque serving as an area for meditation and commemoration. Family members of the six victims – Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti – as well as some survivors were present for the unveiling today.
The president of the mosque gave an emotional address with a message for the children of the six victims.“For the kids present today, the children of our lost friends, you have felt that everyone loves you,” Boufeldja Benabdallah said.