What happened January 29, 2017?

By Medina Birani, BSW Placement Student for the Office EDID

On January 29, 2017, the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City was subject to a tragic, hateful crime. A man with a gun entered the mosque and started shooting those who were praying, killing 6 men and injuring many more. To this day, this horrific shooting continues to affect many hearts and brings deep sadness and fear to our communities.  January 29 is a date that Muslims in Quebec and the rest of Canada will forever mourn.

In remembrance of this day, I want to bring attention to a hero named Aymen Derbali. 

Aymen Derbali, father of three, was 41 years old on the day of the terrorist attack. He was shot seven times during the Quebec City mosque terrorist attack and became paralyzed from the chest down. Ayman had just finished praying when he heard loud bangs outside which was a scene of terror as the man began shooting his gun at worshippers praying. Ayman saw the shooter and thought, "When I saw the panic behind me … I said to myself, ‘I have to stop him. He can’t be allowed to move forward." Ayman ran towards the man and was shot seven times which caused him to become paralyzed.

Ayman said that he would still make that fateful decision today and exclaimed, "What brings me the most comfort is that I tried to do something, I tried to save people. I was shot, but he could have used those bullets to kill other people...I was shot seven times, it’s not easy – but that’s seven fewer bullets for the others."

References

https://www.nccm.ca/greensquare/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/29/quebec-mosque-attack-survivor-recalls-life-changing-moments