A funeral service for three of the six men killed in Sunday night’s shooting at a Quebec City mosque takes place today at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal’s Olympic Park. Belkacemi and Hassane are from Algeria, while Thabti is from Tunisia. There will be prayers for the other three men
A funeral service for three of the six men killed in Sunday night’s shooting at a Quebec City mosque takes place today at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal’s Olympic Park.
Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane and Aboubaker Thabti will be honoured before their bodies are repatriated to their countries of origin.
Belkacemi and Hassane are from Algeria, while Thabti is from Tunisia. There will be prayers for the other three men who were killed in the attack at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec (Quebec Islamic cultural centre).
Doors to the arena, named after one of the city’s most beloved hockey heroes, open to the public at 11:30 a.m. ET. The ceremony is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
CBC News will livestream the event.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre will be among dignitaries in attendance.
Coderre advised members of the public to use public transit to get to the arena, which holds about 5,000 people and is beside Viau Metro station.
“I think that we are all suffering from [the shooting],” Coderre said.
“Not just the Muslim community, it’s not just the people of Quebec. Everyone is suffering from this.”
The funeral for Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry and Azzedine Soufiane will be held at the Quebec City convention centre Friday. Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume will be among those in attendance. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the ceremony starts at 1 p.m.
The six men, aged 39 to 60, were killed when a gunman stormed the mosque and opened fire Sunday night.
Quebec City doesn’t have a place to bury people of the Muslim faith. The head of a non-profit Islamic burial association says the five Muslim cemeteries in Quebec are all in the Montreal area.
Hadjira Belkacem says families of Muslims who die outside Montreal have to either deliver the bodies for burial in Quebec’s largest city, or pay thousands of dollars to have them shipped to their countries of origin.
Source: Thousands expected at Montreal funeral for men killed in Quebec City mosque shooting
