枪案唯一嫌疑人Alexandre Bissonnette，是Laval University 的学生
Quebec City mosque attack suspect known for right-wing online posts
The suspect in the deadly attack on a Quebec City mosque was known in the city’s activist circles as a right-wing troll who frequently took anti-foreigner and anti-feminist positions and stood up for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, a student at Laval University who lived on a quiet crescent in the Cap-Rouge suburb of Quebec City, was expected in court Monday to face murder charges for the shooting that killed six people and wounded 19 others. Police initially arrested a person they considered a second suspect but they later backtracked, saying he was a witness.
Mr. Bissonnette’s online profile and school friendships revealed little interest in extremist politics until last March when French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen visited Quebec City and inspired Mr. Bissonnette to vocal extreme online activism, according to people who clashed with him.
Read more: One suspect in custody after six killed in ‘terrorist attack’ at Quebec mosque
Explainer: The Quebec City mosque attack: What we know so far
Related: Quebec City shooting was act of terror against Canada, Trudeau says
Vincent Boissoneault, a student in international relations at Laval University, grew up with Mr. Bissonnette and was friends with him on Facebook. He said they frequently clashed on politics when Mr. Bissonnette attacked refugees or expressed support for Ms. Le Pen or Mr. Trump.
“I can tell you he was certainly no Muslim convert. I wrote him off as a xenophobe. I didn’t even think of him as totally racist, but he was enthralled by a borderline racist nationalist movement,” Mr. Boissoneault said.
François Deschamps, an employment councillor who runs a refugee support Facebook page, said he immediately recognized Mr. Bissonnette’s photo. “He was someone who made frequent extreme comments in social media denigrating refugees and feminism. It wasn’t outright hate, rather part of this new nationalist conservative identity movement that is more intolerant than hateful.”
Mr. Bissonnette’s Facebook profile was removed from public view Monday morning along with the comments he left behind. Before Ms. Le Pen’s visit, Mr. Bissonnette’s friends say he showed little interest in politics, despite studying the subject at Laval University.
Former classmates from the CEGEP junior college he attended after high school described him as a quiet, unassuming guy who blended in. “It’s scary that this would happen here,” said one of the friends, Antoine Cabanac.
Michel Kingma-Lord, who grew up with Mr. Bissonnette, said he was “shocked” by the news that his erstwhile friend was suspected in a mass shooting. The two had grown apart in recent years, but spent many happy hours collecting minerals together as boys, scouring the schoolyard for bits of quartz.
“He was a really good guy,” said Mr. Kingma-Lord. “A very generous kind of guy, always listening, polite.”
Mr. Bissonnette studied political science, Mr. Kingma-Lord said, but seemed more interested in the campus chess club than any kind of ideology. “He never posted anything about hate speech,” Mr. Kingma-Lord said. “He wouldn’t share any political ideology. When we talked, it was just normal talk.”
Acquaintances from Mr. Bissonnette’s earlier years at Les Compagnons-de-Cartier high school in Quebec City say he was introverted, socially awkward and frequently bullied. Toma Popescu remembered bigger kids teasing Mr. Bissonnette for his slight, pallid appearance and his unfashionable clothing. “He dressed like a country boy,” Mr. Popescu said.
The bullies who targeted Mr. Bissonnette would demand his money and his lunch, even roughing him up, Mr. Popescu added. But Mikael Labrecque Berger said that Mr. Bissonnette wasn’t cowed by his social problems at school.
“He never seemed to take it like personally,” Mr. Berger. “He had an almost happy attitude about it.”
“Someone [would] tell him, ‘You’re ugly,’ and he would say, ‘You too are ugly.’”
Before it was removed, Mr. Bissonnette’s Facebook page revealed normal preoccupations of young adulthood. While he “liked” the page of Ms. Le Pen and other right-wing politicians, he also liked Garfield and pop stars such as Katy Perry.
On Halloween, he posted a picture of himself in a screaming ghoul costume – first popularized by the Scream horror-movie franchise. “Nothing original but it’s a classic,” he wrote.
He also posted a photo of himself wearing what appeared to be a cadet uniform several years ago. A spokesman for the Canadian Forces confirmed that Mr. Bissonnette had participated in the cadet program from 2002 to 2004 in the Quebec City area.
Records show he bought a Chevy Malibu with his twin brother, Mathieu, in 2011. They were also chess-club teammates around that time.
Police searched a house belonging to Mr. Bissonnette’s father, Raymond Bissonnette, on Monday morning. The address showed up on several traffic tickets issued to Alexandre Bissonnette in recent years.
Police say the suspect was not on their radar before the attack. A court records search shows no other involvement with police other than traffic tickets.
Quebec City mosque attack suspect known for right-wing online posts
The suspect in the deadly attack on a Quebec City mosque was known in the city’s activist circles as a right-wing troll who frequently took anti-foreigner and anti-feminist positions and stood up for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, a student at Laval University who lived on a quiet crescent in the Cap-Rouge suburb of Quebec City, was expected in court Monday to face murder charges for the shooting that killed six people and wounded 19 others. Police initially arrested a person they considered a second suspect but they later backtracked, saying he was a witness.
Mr. Bissonnette’s online profile and school friendships revealed little interest in extremist politics until last March when French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen visited Quebec City and inspired Mr. Bissonnette to vocal extreme online activism, according to people who clashed with him.
Read more: One suspect in custody after six killed in ‘terrorist attack’ at Quebec mosque
Explainer: The Quebec City mosque attack: What we know so far
Related: Quebec City shooting was act of terror against Canada, Trudeau says
Vincent Boissoneault, a student in international relations at Laval University, grew up with Mr. Bissonnette and was friends with him on Facebook. He said they frequently clashed on politics when Mr. Bissonnette attacked refugees or expressed support for Ms. Le Pen or Mr. Trump.
“I can tell you he was certainly no Muslim convert. I wrote him off as a xenophobe. I didn’t even think of him as totally racist, but he was enthralled by a borderline racist nationalist movement,” Mr. Boissoneault said.
François Deschamps, an employment councillor who runs a refugee support Facebook page, said he immediately recognized Mr. Bissonnette’s photo. “He was someone who made frequent extreme comments in social media denigrating refugees and feminism. It wasn’t outright hate, rather part of this new nationalist conservative identity movement that is more intolerant than hateful.”
Mr. Bissonnette’s Facebook profile was removed from public view Monday morning along with the comments he left behind. Before Ms. Le Pen’s visit, Mr. Bissonnette’s friends say he showed little interest in politics, despite studying the subject at Laval University.
Former classmates from the CEGEP junior college he attended after high school described him as a quiet, unassuming guy who blended in. “It’s scary that this would happen here,” said one of the friends, Antoine Cabanac.
Michel Kingma-Lord, who grew up with Mr. Bissonnette, said he was “shocked” by the news that his erstwhile friend was suspected in a mass shooting. The two had grown apart in recent years, but spent many happy hours collecting minerals together as boys, scouring the schoolyard for bits of quartz.
“He was a really good guy,” said Mr. Kingma-Lord. “A very generous kind of guy, always listening, polite.”
Mr. Bissonnette studied political science, Mr. Kingma-Lord said, but seemed more interested in the campus chess club than any kind of ideology. “He never posted anything about hate speech,” Mr. Kingma-Lord said. “He wouldn’t share any political ideology. When we talked, it was just normal talk.”
Acquaintances from Mr. Bissonnette’s earlier years at Les Compagnons-de-Cartier high school in Quebec City say he was introverted, socially awkward and frequently bullied. Toma Popescu remembered bigger kids teasing Mr. Bissonnette for his slight, pallid appearance and his unfashionable clothing. “He dressed like a country boy,” Mr. Popescu said.
The bullies who targeted Mr. Bissonnette would demand his money and his lunch, even roughing him up, Mr. Popescu added. But Mikael Labrecque Berger said that Mr. Bissonnette wasn’t cowed by his social problems at school.
“He never seemed to take it like personally,” Mr. Berger. “He had an almost happy attitude about it.”
“Someone [would] tell him, ‘You’re ugly,’ and he would say, ‘You too are ugly.’”
Before it was removed, Mr. Bissonnette’s Facebook page revealed normal preoccupations of young adulthood. While he “liked” the page of Ms. Le Pen and other right-wing politicians, he also liked Garfield and pop stars such as Katy Perry.
On Halloween, he posted a picture of himself in a screaming ghoul costume – first popularized by the Scream horror-movie franchise. “Nothing original but it’s a classic,” he wrote.
He also posted a photo of himself wearing what appeared to be a cadet uniform several years ago. A spokesman for the Canadian Forces confirmed that Mr. Bissonnette had participated in the cadet program from 2002 to 2004 in the Quebec City area.
Records show he bought a Chevy Malibu with his twin brother, Mathieu, in 2011. They were also chess-club teammates around that time.
Police searched a house belonging to Mr. Bissonnette’s father, Raymond Bissonnette, on Monday morning. The address showed up on several traffic tickets issued to Alexandre Bissonnette in recent years.
Police say the suspect was not on their radar before the attack. A court records search shows no other involvement with police other than traffic tickets.
