Canada mosque killer changes plea to guilty

Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON: Alexandre Bissonnette admitted Wednesday he is gunman who shot and killed six men during prayer at a Quebec City mosque last year.

Bissonnette, 28, had pleaded not guilty Monday in front of Judge Francois Huot to the 12 charges – six of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder.

But it was learned Wednesday that a few hours after pleading not guilty, he told the court he wanted to change his plea to guilty on all charges.

The change led Huot to refuse to accept the guilty plea pending a psychiatric evaluation of Bissonnette, a move that could not be reported earlier due to a pre-trial publication ban.

The judge refused to accept the guilty plea until the assessment was complete. Details are sketchy, but it appears the judge was satisfied with the psychiatric assessment and Bissonnette was aware of what he was doing, since the judge allowed Bissonnette to plead guilty Wednesday.

Bissonnette opened fire at the Islamic Cultural Centre on Jan. 29, 2017, while worshippers were at evening prayer. In addition to killing six, he wounded 19 others.

The victims deceased Azzeddine Soufiane, 57; Khaled Belkacemi, 60; Aboubaker Thabti, 44; Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42; and Ibrahim Barry, 39. (AA)