Why Won't Quebec Authorities Release The Names of The Two Shooters Responsible For Mosque Attack? UPDATE

As I write this it has been at least 12 hours since the two suspects in the Quebec City mosque shooting which left six congregants dead and yet authorities have not been forthcoming in releasing their names.


At the time of the shooting a witness reported he heard shouts of "Allahu Akbar". As such it is only natural to wonder if the perpetrators were Muslim as I did last night. There has been speculation on social media that the perpetrators were Syrian refugees. If this turns out to be a case it would not only put a black mark on Prime Minister Trudeau's Syrian refugee program, but could also have the effect of vindicating President Trump's executive order barring travel and immigration from Syria along with six other Muslim majority countries. The Islamophobia narrative would be shot to hell. It would certainly go a long way in explaining the delay.


Still, speculation has been rampant. The Daily Beast got fooled by a fake Reuters website and erroneously identified the suspects as white supremacists. By the same token, it is certainly possible that the perpetrators aren't Syrian refugees either.


Of course it is possible that this could have been a Muslim on Muslim attack with the perpetrators being born and raised in Quebec and possibly converts as was the case in the 2014 Parliament Hill shooting in Ottawa.


I say let the chips fall where the may and sooner the authorities release the names the better. The longer they wait the more speculation will abound and that is unhealthy. If the perpetrators are non-Muslim then we have to deal with that fact. But if they are Muslim we also must deal with that fact too.


Whoever is responsible for this act what is beyond dispute is that six people were killed in prayer. It is something all reasonable people ought to abhor.


UPDATE: Although Quebec authorities arrested two Laval University students, Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed el Khadir, police eventually said one of the men was a witness although declined to be more specific. CBC News didn't exactly cover itself in glory when it tweeted, "Only one of the two men detained in the #QuebecShooting is considered a suspect. Because of this, we are deleting posts with their names." The tweet had all the makings of a whitewash.


However, authorities are now confirming that Bissonnette is the shooter and el Khadir is the witness. Obviously a hatred of Muslims was the motive although it isn't clear what precisely set him off last night. No doubt there will be an examination of any social media posts made by Bissonnette or any subsequent statements he might make to the authorities.


In the interim, I fully expect Prime Minister Trudeau to speak out against Islamophobia and quite possibly introduce more gun control legislation to give the appearance of doing something.


Of course, nothing can justify this heinous act. But as Groucho Marx said, "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." Just as with President Trump, I have no doubt Trudeau will look for trouble, find it, diagnose it incorrectly and apply the wrong remedies.