Man charged with weapon possession after three people injured at Montreal-area mosque

By The Canadian Press on September 21, 2024.

A Police officer outside the Centre Culturel Musulman in Chateauguay, Que., Friday September 20, 2024. Three men have been injured after a 24-year-old man entered a mosque southwest of Montreal armed with a knife. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL – A 24-year-old man is facing a weapon-related charge after allegedly entering a Montreal-area mosque on Friday while carrying a knife, leading to an altercation that left three men with minor injuries.

Châteauguay Police spokesman Marc-Olivier Chatelois says the suspect, Younes Abib, is a resident of Châteauguay, a suburb southwest of Montreal.

Chatelois says police do not believe the suspect intended to hurt anyone, adding the knife was in Abib’s belt.

He has been charged with one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

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.

Azmane says the three men who were hurt, all volunteers, sustained their injuries while trying to disarm Abib “as a precaution.”

On Friday police in Châteauguay said the three men were in their 50s and suffered minor injuries, with one taken to hospital for wounds to his hand.

At the time, police did not say whether the knife was used to cause any of the injuries.

The suspect was taken to the police station on Friday afternoon.

Chatelois says the suspect was known by worshippers at the mosque; but Azmane said he had no connection to the mosque itself.

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

Abib appeared in court Saturday afternoon and will be detained until he returns to court next week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.