The Quebec City mosque reopened its doors for reporters and members of the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebe on Wednesday (1 February) after the deadly attack on Sunday that claimed six lives and injured 18 others.

However, the walls of the mosque still have blood stains and bullet holes. There is blood on the carpet, tables and in footprints leading to the basement, showcasing the aftermath of the carnage.

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Addressing a news conference, Mosque vice-president Mohamed Labidi said that they opened the mosque to show the world consequences of hate and Islamophobia.

"Hate can lead to carnage, to the loss of innocent life, and that's what happened in this mosque," Labidi said, while adding they had been "attacked in the heart of their community".

Labidi, who was joined by other members of the mosque to share stories, also mentioned the courage of one of the victims, Azzedine Soufiane, who lost his life while saving others.

The vice-president said that Soufiane tried his best to protect other worshippers as the gunman entered the mosque on Sunday during evening prayers.

"He was safe behind the column there and when he see that the attacker recharge his gun he ran quickly to immobilise him.

"But the attacker was quicker and he goes back and shot him directly in his body and he fell down here. Fell down here as a hero," Labidi said, while pointing towards a patch of blood on the floor where the 57-year-old died.

"Without his intervention, we would have more martyrs," he added.

The shooting that took place over the weekend happened when gunmen opened fire on around 40 people at 8pm while evening prayers were taking place at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center.

Quebec mosque attack
Blood stains are pictured at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City, Canada REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger

The victims of the attack were Khaled, 60, Abdelkrim Hassane, 41, Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, Ibrahima Barry, 39, and Aboubaker Thabti, 44. All of them were immigrants who had come to Quebec for a better life.

Meanwhile, the suspect of the shooting Alexandre Bissonnette has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder. Bissonnette, a French-Canadian national, who is believed to be in his 20s, is accused of killing six people and injuring an additional 18.