Hate crimes on the rise in Montreal post Quebec City mosque shooting

Montreal [Canada], Feb.1 (ANI): Following Sunday's shoot-out in a mosque in Canada's Quebec City, there has been a rise in hate crimes in the city of Montreal. According to Canada's Global News website, there have been 14 reports of hate crimes in Montreal since six people were killed in a mosque in Quebec on Sunday. The web site quoted Montreal police chief Philippe Pichet and Melanie Lajoie, a spokesperson with Montreal police, as saying that there were 81 reported hate crimes in 2013, 89 in 2014, 112 in 2015 and 137 in 2016. "The numbers are going up," Lajoie pointed out. Lajoie said investigators are now working to determine the validity of the 14 reports that the police received. The force had announced Monday there will be an increased police presence and surveillance at mosques around the city. Meanwhile, victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting are being mourned. There is both anger and frustration among Montreal residents who said that dead were 'peaceful people'. Some placed flowers near a mosque where a Sunday night shooting left six people dead. Two victims remain in critical condition. (ANI)