Thousands of people are at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal to pay respects to three of the victims of Sunday’s shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec.
“This afternoon, the entire country is coming together for the victims, to celebrate the lives of those who were husbands, fathers, friends,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume and politicians from the opposition parties, were also in attendance.
“We feel your pain, we share your pain,” said Couillard. “When one of us suffers, we all do.”
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The service in Montreal honoured three out of the six victims.
“Our diversity is our strength,” said Coderre.
“We have lost six Quebecers, six Canadians.”
The doors opened at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, with the ceremony starting at 1 p.m.
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The three victims remembered at the Montreal service are Abdelkrim Hassane, 41, an IT worker for Quebec’s provincial government; Khaled Belkacemi, 60, a professor of soil and agri-food engineering at l’Université Laval and Aboubaker Thabti, 44, a pharmacy worker.
The bodies of the victims being remembered during Thursday’s service will be sent to their native countries of Tunisia and Algeria.
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Prayers were also said for the other three victims, Azzeddine Soufiane, 57, a grocer and owner of a halal butcher shop; Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, a technician at Lucas Meyer Cosmetics and Ibrahima Barry, 39, an employee of Quebec’s health insurance board.
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A second service will be held at the Quebec City Convention Centre Friday at 12:30 p.m.
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Attack in Quebec City
Sunday night, six people were killed and many others injured, including several children, during a shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec in Sainte-Foy.
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The suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, faces six charges of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted firearm.
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The centre was also the target of vandalism last summer when a pig’s head was delivered to it during Ramadan.
WATCH: Funeral held for three victims of Quebec mosque shooting. Amanda Jelowicki reports.
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