The victims of a deadly shooting spree are being remembered one year later.
Monday marked the first anniversary of the mass shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique du Quebec (CCIQ) in Quebec City. Six people died and 19 others were injured when a gunman opened fire during an evening prayer service in the mosque. The accused gunman is facing murder charges.
Observances have been held across the country to commemorate the deadliest attack on a house of worship in Canadian history. In Windsor, evening prayers at the Windsor Islamic Association were followed by a screening of the documentary "Your Last Walkin the Mosque".
Monday's showing was the second in Windsor following one held Sunday at City Hall.
The film, with interviews presented in French and English subtitles, features several survivors of the attack giving their accounts of what happened. Some 200 people watched the film Monday from the men's prayer hall at the Windsor mosque. Most sat silently while a few bowed their heads.
The closing scene of the documentary showed several pairs of shoes still on the rack at the Quebec City mosque. They belonged to some of those who died.
Zafar Iqbal, chairman of the Windsor Islamic Council, tells BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that he could see the impact the film had on those who attended the City Hall screening.
"There were a couple of moments that were very touching when you heard that a couple of the brothers who died were getting in front of the bullets to protect some of the other brothers so they [did't] get hit," says Iqbal.
He says a lot of people in Windsor-Essex's Muslim community were able to show empathy for the survivors of the Quebec tragedy.
"There was quite a bit that people could relate to, I think," says Iqbal. "In our city here, there's a lot of people who go to the mosque very regularly, and I'm sure they were trying to see, God forbid, if something like that had happened to them."
