Man armed with knife arrested after allegedly injuring 3 people at Châteauguay mosque

Three men have been injured after a 24-year-old man entered the Centre Culturel Musulman de Châteauguay — a mosque southwest of Montreal — armed with a knife on Friday afternoon.

Police in Châteauguay say the man entered the mosque on St-Jean Baptiste Blvd., where a physical altercation broke out with several individuals at around 1:40 p.m.

An official at the Montreal-area mosque says the victims were hurt while trying to disarm the man who entered the building with a knife.

Rachid Azmane, an administrator at the Muslim cultural centre in Châteauguay, Que., says the man entered the mosque before prayers and drew the attention of staff, who noticed he was acting “a little bizarre” and became alarmed when they saw he was carrying a knife.

He says the three men who were hurt, all volunteers, sustained their injuries while trying to take the knife away “as a precaution.” 

“I was here preaching with my brothers,” said Mouad en Abdellatif, who was upstairs at the mosque when the incident occurred. “And then suddenly someone came and said that someone is wandering here with a knife.”

“It’s hard to say that he meant to harm someone.”

Three men in their 50s sustained minor injuries and one was transported to the hospital — at the time, police did not say whether the knife was used to cause any of the injuries.

Authorities say the suspect was arrested on the spot.

“At around 1:40 p.m., a call was made to 911 for a man who had entered the Muslim Cultural Centre of Châteauguay,” said Marc-Olivier Chatelois, spokesperson for the Châteauguay Police Department.

The suspect was taken to the police station on Friday afternoon, but investigators did not provide any details about a possible motive or whether charges are pending. 

“I want to say to the community that everything is ok, no problem,” said Abdellatif. “And the kid, we don’t know him because he’s not our age.”

“But what the kids said, he says, is a very nice guy,” he added. “Why he’s carrying another knife? Nobody knows.”

Châteauguay Police spokesman Marc-Olivier Chatelois said the suspect was known by worshippers at the mosque; but Azmane said he had no connection to the mosque itself. 

Azmane said the interactions between the suspect and the injured men took place in the building’s basement, adding he did not witness what happened himself.

The suspect will appear in court Saturday afternoon.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was disturbed to learn about the attack at the Centre Culturel Musulman de Châteauguay.

“While we wait for more information, my thoughts are with these individuals and entire congregation who must be very shaken right now,” he wrote on X.

I’m disturbed to learn that three people were injured in an attack at the Centre Culturel Musulman in Châteauguay.

While we wait for more information, my thoughts are with these individuals and the entire congregation who must be very shaken right now.…

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 20, 2024

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) writing on X that they are aware of the incident.

“We are in touch with the local centre and will provide more information as it becomes available. However, we do not have information at this point to make a suggestion as to the motivation behind the incident, and we encourage our community not to speculate as the investigation continues.”

We are aware and greatly concerned after an incident at a Quebec Islamic centre where a suspect allegedly walked in with a knife and injured 3 congregants.

We are in touch with the local centre and will provide more information as it becomes available. However, we do not have… pic.twitter.com/aZvDNo99ZE

— NCCM (@nccm) September 20, 2024

Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, said the news was “very distressing.” 

“Our thoughts are with the victims, hoping the injuries sustained are not serious and that their recovery will not be difficult,” she said on X. 

The yellow crime scene tape was lifted around 7 p.m. and the center reopened for prayer.

—With files from The Canadian Press.