Aymen Derbali reacts to the guilty plea by Alexandre Bissonnette for the 2017 mosque shooting, Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at the hall of justice in Quebec City. Derbali was injured during the shooting and has been paralyzed since. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
April 01, 2018 - 8:50 AM
MONTREAL - A man who lost the use of his legs in last year's Quebec City mosque shooting is thanking Canadians for the support they've shown him in recent months.
Aymen Derbali received the $400,000 that was raised to buy him a wheelchair-accessible home in a ceremony at the mosque on Saturday.
Derbali was paralyzed from the waist down when a shooter opened fire in the mosque on Jan. 29, 2017, killing six.
The Muslim-Canadian non-profit DawaNet says it received donations from more than 4,800 donors in 40 countries after it launched an online fundraiser for Derbali in December.
Derbali is currently living in a rehabilitation centre but has said he hopes to move out by this summer.
In a statement, he says the thought of playing with his three children in his new house gives him the strength to heal.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2018