WARNING: This story contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some
Chilling first images have emerged from the inside of a Quebec mosque where a gunman opened fire on Sunday, killing six men and wounding others.
- Scroll down or click here for CTV National News producer Rosa Hwang's description of the shooting aftermath
Cameras and journalists were allowed inside the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec in Sainte-Foy for the first time on Tuesday night to see the space, which is now marked with blood stains and bullet holes.
CTV National News senior broadcast producer Rosa Hwang went inside the mosque, where she described seeing blood “still smeared on the walls, pools of dried blood on the carpet.”
Shoes of the dead and injured remained inside the mosque, where the men had left them to kneel and pray before the ambush.
Members of the community were also allowed in the mosque. One man comforted another man who was slumped in chair, openly weeping, Hwang reported. One of the men at the mosque, Ahmed Elrefai, told The Canadian Press during the tour that some of his friends were shot in that very room. He said that members of the mosque have been eager to return, despite the inescapable visual reminders of what took place on Sunday evening.
"The message is that we will still pray, even with blood on the floor," he said.
The mosque’s vice-president, Mohamed Labidi, said he wanted to open up the mosque so that the public could see what the victims experienced there. One of those victims, Azzeddine Soufiane, was Labidi’s friend. He was shot to death after he ran towards the shooter and struggled with him, according to Labidi.
“He was a generous man,” he said. "Generous to the last moment of his life. He is our hero."
Ahmed El-Ghandouri said the members of the mosque have no choice but to come back and worship here.
"This is my second home," he said. "We have to return here. We don't have the choice. We have to clean, put it back in order. And we welcome people to come and see what Islam is really about."
The first glimpse of the massacre’s aftermath came as Quebecers of various faiths gathered in a Quebec City Catholic Church Tuesday evening, to honour the slain men. The service at Notre-dame-de-Foy was a symbol of solidarity with the Muslim community.
Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack.
Police say there are not looking for any other suspects.
CTV National News producer Rosa Hwang described the aftermath inside the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec on her Twitter account:
They opened up the #SteFoy mosque tonight for journalists. I got a text from a contact. He invited me inside to have a look. So I did. 1/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Blood still smeared on the walls, pools of dried blood on the carpet. Graphic evidence of the massacre. 2/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Shoes of the dead and injured still inside, where they had left them to kneel and pray. 3/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Grown men, devout Muslim men cried. In front of me. The trauma still fresh. 4/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: A man pointed at the stained carpet. Not for me, but I looked. Blood. Of someone he knew? Probably. 5/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Sadness. I saw sadness. One man slumped in a chair openly weeping. Another comforting him. 6/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: I rushed in so quick, forgot to cover my head with a scarf. They were too distracted by pain to notice. 7/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: A sacred space marked by bullet holes. Stained by blood. How will they clean this? Can they clean this? 8/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: My contact who invited us in, a wise and kind man, smiled at me and thanked me. Thanked ME? What? 9/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Humility. I saw humility inside that mosque. No anger by the presence of outsiders like me. 10/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: No evidence of the "angry Muslim man" stereotype. None. Even tho they have every reason to be angry. 11/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: The carpet. Well worn. Wood paneling. Not ornate at all. A simple place of worship. Now tarnished. /12
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: In one corner was blood and something else. Brain matter? I'm not an expert. Sorry for being graphic. 13/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Been here for days covering the massacre, but now I could actually SEE it. Must have been horrible. 14/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Evidence of an ambush. The blood was not just concentrated in one area. 15/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Keep focusing on the blood. Sorry. Can't get it out of my mind. 6 people died there. Many injured. 16/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Easy access. Open the door, there's the main room. I visualized worshippers with their backs turned. 17/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Minus evidence of a massacre, mosque is completely non-threatening. Looked like any church basement. 18/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Back to my contact. So gracious, even though he lost so many. He said something profound earlier. 19/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: He said he's not angry at the shooter. He felt pity for his ignorance. Ignorance should be pitied. 20/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Someone opened the door for us. Even in their grief, we were welcomed. Still blown away by that. 21/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: They wanted us to see the evidence. A horrific thing happened. It was real. Inside their sacred space. 22/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: They wanted us to see it. That's why I'm sharing. Too much? Sorry. But this horrific thing happened. 23/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: Faith. Despite everything, the people inside still had faith. A few were on their knees praying. 24/
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
What I saw inside #SteFoy mosque: I can't think of anything else. But I'm sure I will. Hard to forget. Thanks for reading. 25/25
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017
Context for this tweet because words were clumsy. They asked I make clear mosques are welcoming, not scary. Tried to do that. No disrespect. https://t.co/ASOqXHKIu5
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaCTV) February 1, 2017