Police forces in Montreal and Quebec City say they are on high alert following two deadly shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand.
READ MORE: World leaders condemn New Zealand mosque attack
They have confirmed officers will be increasing surveillance around mosques and potentially other places of worship. This includes one in Dorval, where it has been vandalized 12 times over the past couple of years.
At least 49 people are dead and many others seriously injured in Christchurch, located on New Zealand’s South Island, following the attacks during Friday prayers.
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New Zealand shooting: Canada condemns ‘act of terrorism’ in Christchurch -
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New Zealand Shooting: Death toll from mosque shootings rises to 49: Police -
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Police respond after multiple people killed in shooting in Christchurch mosque
Forty-one of the victims were killed at Al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue and seven were at a mosque on Linwood Avenue. Another died at Christchurch Hospital, Commissioner Mike Bush said at a news conference.
WATCH: Timeline of New Zealand mosque shootings
He added that no agency in New Zealand or Australia had any information on the suspects before the incidents.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack on Twitter, calling it “absolutely appalling” and saying Canadians “join New Zealanders and Muslim communities around the world in grieving.”
READ MORE: Christchurch shooting: 49 killed at 2 mosques, 1 man charged with murder
“There is no place for extremism in our society. There is no place for intolerance,” he said, adding that his sincerest condolences are with the families of the victims.
“We cannot let violence take root in our democratic societies.”
According to the commissioner of the New Zealand police, one man in his late 20s has been charged with murder in connection with the incidents.
READ MORE: New Zealand police search home in Dunedin after mosque shooting
Three people were arrested, one of them born in Australia. Police said a fourth person was arrested Friday, but in an incident “not related to these events.”
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New Zealand Shooting: Suspects not on any security watch lists according to New Zealand Police -
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New Zealand shooting: Jacinda Ardern confirms at least 40 killed -
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New Zealand shooting: Police say three men, one woman in custody -
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New Zealand shooting: Police confirm two separate mosques targeted -
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New Zealand prime minister reacts to Christchurch ‘extreme and unprecedented violence’
Police say they are still trying to determine how the other two people taken into custody could be linked to the shooting.
A video has of the suspected gunman was allegedly broadcast live on Facebook.
READ MORE: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube working to remove New Zealand shooting content
Several social media sites are working to take down the video and any pictures allegedly related to the gunman, including a “manifesto” denouncing immigrants and pictures of deadly equipment apparently showing names of extremists and killers, including Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette.
Mosque shooting in Quebec
Muslims in Quebec City say they are in shock after hearing about the mass shootings in Christchurch, a little more than two years after their community was attacked.
READ MORE: Quebec Muslim community welcomes statement by accused shooter’s parents
Bissonnette murdered six men at a mosque in the province’s capital in January 2017, and was sentenced on Feb. 8 to life behind bars without the possibility of parole for 40 years — the harshest prison term ever in Quebec.
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Christchurch shooting: Witnesses recount hiding, running from gunfire -
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Christchurch Shooting: Witness describes seeing dead, injured people inside and outside mosque -
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Christchurch shooting: New Zealander says incident has left her terrified, in shock -
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Witness describes chaos following shooting at mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand -
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Witness describes shooting at Christchurch mosque: ‘I could hear screaming and crying’
Boufeldja Benabdallah, head of the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre, says his thoughts are also with the families of victims in Quebec City who are being forced to relive what they went through.
He adds people in his community are feeling indescribable pain and it’s time for lawmakers to legislate against extremism.
READ MORE: Quebec City mosque shooting: Remembering the victims and moving on 2 years later
“I’m convinced they are feeling a terrible pain. Imagine the children of those families here in Quebec who are hearing it on the radio and will watch their mothers cry and ask, ‘Why are you crying?”’ Benabdallah said.
“The mothers will remember the 29th, when they ran to get husbands who were killed by Alexandre Bissonnette.”
Benabdallah added that amid the mourning, it is time to speak out against extremism in all its forms.
WATCH BELOW: Quebec City mosque gunman Alexandre Bissonnette appeals sentence
“We must get back to work once again to explain, to tell these extremists of all stripes who politicize religion, like extremists who use race as a basis for discrimination, that we must change,” Benabdallah said.
“The world cannot continue like this.”
The Christchurch shootings come days after Crown prosecutors filed an appeal handed down to the Quebec City killer.
READ MORE: Quebec City Muslim community ‘astonished and very upset’ by Alexandre Bissonnette’s sentence
Both the Crown and the attorney general are seeking to have the inadmissibility period raised to 50 years.
During sentencing, the Crown had sought 150 years, which could have been the longest sentence in Canadian history.
READ MORE: Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette sentenced to life in prison, no parole for 40 years
Lawyers for Bissonnette said they are also appealing the killer’s sentence, asking that he be eligible for parole in 25 years.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
Follow @rachel_lau
— with files from The Canadian Press.
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