A 24-year-old man has been charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose in connection with Friday’s altercation at a mosque in Châteauguay, Que., that left three men injured.
Younes Adib, a resident of Châteauguay, remains detained until his next court appearance next week.
Three men in their 50s sustained minor injuries during the altercation after a suspect with a knife entered the Centre Culturel Musulman de Châteauguay. One was taken to hospital.
The centre’s administrator said the injured men were known worshippers.
On Friday, Châteauguay police said the man had a knife when he entered the mosque, located on St-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard, and an altercation broke out among several individuals at around 1:40 p.m.
Rachid Azmane, the centre’s administrator, said he witnessed the situation unfold. People inside the mosque noticed the man sitting down before he proceeded to change seats a few times, which struck Azmane as strange, he said.
After noticing more strange behavior, mosque leaders decided to delay the prayer while a few men approached the suspect and brought him to the centre’s basement to speak with him and find out what was going on, said Azmane.
Azmane said he didn’t go downstairs, but he could see the interaction from where he was standing inside the mosque.
It was during that interaction that the men who approached the suspect realized he was concealing a knife.
“They tried to take control of the knife. A first man got injured, then a second, then a third,” said Azmane.
The incident caught the attention of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who both said on X that people should feel safe in their place of worship.
Châteauguay police said the latest information suggests the suspect was known to the community. They say the motive behind the incident remains unknown at this time.