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Quebec City mosque shooter ‘very affected’ by New Zealand massacre

Lawyers for Alexandre Bissonnette say he is not looking for his acts to be imitated
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Alexandre Bissonnette is shown in a photo from his Facebook profile page. Bissonnette was arrested after a shooting at a Quebec City mosque which left six dead and others injured. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Facebook MANDATORY CREDIT

Lawyers for the Quebec City mosque gunman say their client is troubled his name is being associated with the mass killings at two New Zealand mosques Friday that claimed at least 49 lives.

Charles-Olivier Gosselin and Jean-Claude Gingras released a statement to the media today stating convicted killer Alexandre Bissonnette is not looking for his acts to be imitated or to serve as a model for others.

READ MORE: Quebec City mosque killer sentenced to life, no parole for 40 years

The lawyers were responding to unconfirmed reports the shooter in New Zealand was influenced by Bissonnette, who shot dead six worshippers in a Quebec City mosque in January 2017.

A now-deleted Twitter account that is believed to be linked to the accused New Zealand shooter shows what appear to be three assault-rifle magazines, one of which has Bissonnette’s name on it.

Bissonnette was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 40 years, but both the Crown and his lawyers have recently announced they are appealing the sentence.

Gosselin and Gingras say Bissonnette profoundly regrets what he did and has been very affected by the shootings in New Zealand.

The Canadian Press

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