National Post (National Edition)
‘Gentle,’ ‘beloved’ victims mourned
They were fathers, businessmen, a university professor and others who were killed while at evening prayers.
Azzeddine Soufiane, 57, a father of three, a grocer and a butcher, welcomed newcomers to Quebec, helped them integrate and was a brother to everyone, said a friend.
“Mr. Soufiane was someone who was well known in Quebec because he opened one of the first community businesses here,” said Karim Elabed, an imam at a mosque in nearby Levis.
“Myself, when I arrived here eight years ago, (his shop) was the first place I learned about and pretty much all of Quebec’s Muslims did their groceries there.”
Elabed and another friend, Ali Ouldache, told The Canadian Press they’d been told that Soufiane tried to engage the shooter and that’s how he died.
Ouldache, who arrived in 2007, said Soufiane was the first person he spoke to when he arrived from France, a little bit lost in his new surroundings.
“It (his store) was really my refuge and we became friends after that,” Ouldache said.
“He was a father to everyone, a brother to everyone — very tolerant, very respectful.”
Ouldache said Soufiane was really someone who really loved Quebec — a true Quebecois, who’d called the province home for 30 years.
“He was really likable and generous,” Ouldache said. “It’s a tragedy the way he died.”
“We’ve just lost someone who was very, very nice, a good person … such a loss, someone who was so welcoming, who helped everybody,” said Ali Miladi, who said he and his father-in-law knew Soufiane well.
Miladi drove to Soufiane’s meat shop in the Ste-Foy neighbourhood Monday morning, cut his car’s engine and let the tears run down his face. “He was a friend.” In 2009, Soufiane defended Quebec as an open society in an interview he gave to Le Soleil. “I’ve been here for 20 years,” he said at the time, “and I’ve never had any problems. We live in society, we live in peace, and we hope that it will continue like this.”
Khaled Belkacemi, 60, a professor at Université Laval’s agricultural sciences and food department, was one of the victims, the university said, noting he was “devoted and beloved by his colleagues and students.”
Belkacemi’s wife is also a professor at Laval.
“I wish to salute (Belkacemi’s) human qualities and professionalism,” said JeanClaude Dufour, dean of the department.
“He was a very educated man, passionate and committed to the faculty. His remarkable work will survive his sudden departure, which saddens us all deeply.”
“Our university community is in mourning today,” rector Denis Briere said in a statement. “We mourn the death of an esteemed member of the faculty and the university, a devoted and beloved man of his colleagues and students.”
Mohamed Labidi, vicepresident at the mosque where the attack took place, said Belkacemi, a father of three, was a good friend.
“He wouldn’t have hurt anyone,” Labidi said. “He was so kind and gentle.”
Another victim, Abdelkrim Hassane, 41, a father of three, worked in information technology for the government.
The Quebec coroner’s office later identified the other three victims as Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, Ibrahima Barry, 39, and Aboubaker Thabti, 44.
Two of the victims were Guinean nationals.