The French-Canadian student charged in a shooting spree that killed six people at a Quebec City mosque was known in online circles as a supporter of far-right French politician Marine Le Pen and described by a former classmate as a "nerdy outcast."Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, the sole suspect in Sunday night's shooting, was charged on Monday with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon. Police said he acted alone.He was not previously known to police, but a Facebook post by the group "Welcome to Refugees - Quebec City" said Bissonnette was "unfortunately known to several activists in Quebec City for his pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist identity positions at Université Laval and on social networks."The online profile for Bissonnette, who made a brief court appearance on Monday, showed a wide variety of interests.On his Facebook page, he indicated he liked Le Pen, U.S. President Donald Trump, the separatist Parti Quebecois as well as Canada's left-wing New Democratic Party, the Israeli Defense Forces, heavy metal band Megadeth and pop star Katy Perry."I wrote him off as a xenophobe. I didn't even think of him as totally racist, but he was enthralled by a borderline racist nationalist movement," Vincent Boissoneault, a fellow Laval University student, told the Globe and Mail newspaper. He said they frequently clashed over Bissonnette's opinions about refugees and support for Le Pen and Trump.Bissonnette's lawyer, Jean Petit, declined to comment at the courthouse on Monday. Université Laval confirmed on Monday that Bissonnette was a social science student there.Bissonnette was a cerebral "nerdy outcast," said former high school classmate Simon de Billy, adding the suspect and his twin brother were inseparable."He was an avid reader, knew a lot about history and about current issues, current politics, those kinds of topics," de Billy said. "He was just a bit of a loner, always with his twin brother, didn't have any friends."He wasn't physically strong or imposing, and probably got a bit of a hard time, was probably not taken seriously. ... He would be kind of made fun of, the butt of the jokes."

Victims are dual nationals

Some 50 people were in the mosque at the time of the attack.

The dead are all dual Canadian nationals: one Moroccan, two Algerians, one Tunisian and two Guineans.

Quebec has traditionally attracted Muslim immigrants from North Africa.

Bissonnette surrendered 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the city after calling an emergency services hotline an hour after the attack to reveal his location.

"It is a domestic investigation at this time," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Martin Plante said.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the nation's security threat level remained at medium - requiring security forces to be on guard but having no specific information about an imminent threat.

It was raised to this level in October 2014 after a lone gunman attacked parliament.

Open door to Muslims

Police are continuing to collect evidence in a bid to "identify exactly who is involved and what was their motivation," Goodale said.

Authorities, he added, don't have "sufficient, hard facts yet to be able to draw conclusions."

The Quebec mosque had already been the target of hate: a pig's head was left on the doorstep last June during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Other mosques in Canada have been targeted with anti-Muslim graffiti in recent months.

Police stationed near the mosque told AFP that they had feared this type of attack "because it's happening all over the world."

The shooting came as Canada vowed to open its arms to Muslim refugees after Trump's controversial immigration ban prompted travel chaos and outrage around the world.

"Last night's horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians," Trudeau said.

To the one million Canadians who profess the Muslim faith, he said "36 million hearts are breaking with yours," alluding to the country's total population.

"Canadians will not be intimidated," Trudeau added. "We will not meet violence with more violence. We will meet fear and hatred with love and compassion."

Trump telephoned Trudeau to offer his condolences following the attack, which was condemned around the world including by leading Sunni Muslim body Al-Azhar, as well as Egypt and Jordan.

'Senseless violence'

Mohamed Ali Saidane, who lost a relative in the shooting, joined elected officials at city hall Monday to denounce escalating hate.

People fleeing the mosque - where custom requires worshippers to remove their shoes during prayer - did not have time to collect their winter boots.

"They arrived in a panic," said Louis-Gabriel Cloutier, the manager of a cafe across the street who saw them fleeing the rampage.

Some took refuge at the cafe.

"I never thought that such a thing could happen," said a man who frequents another of the city's 10 mosques. He had ventured to the scene because "I know people who were inside."

Hamid Nadji learned of the shooting from a friend and rushed to the mosque area.

"For us Muslims, Quebec and Canada had been a safe zone," he said.