QUEBEC -- A series of commemorations marking the fourth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting are taking place Friday and Saturday.

Six Muslim men were killed and five others wounded shortly after finishing evening prayers at the Quebec City Islamic cultural centre on Jan. 29, 2017.

Virtual events organized by the mosque and affiliated groups will begin shortly before 11 a.m. today with a reading from the Qur'an, which will be streamed on platforms such as Facebook and Zoom.

A vigil is also scheduled to take place in the Montreal neighbourhood of Parc-Extension, which has a large Muslim population.

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which was publicized Thursday, one of the co-founders of the Islamic cultural centre, Boufeldja Benabdallah, said the federal government hasn't done enough to get handguns off the market.

Also on Thursday, the federal government announced that it plans to make Jan. 29 the "National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia."

------

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2021.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.