A leader in the Quebec City mosque where six men were shot and killed in January condemned extremism of any sort and said an attack on a London mosque has raised fears of escalation.

Mohamed Labidi, vice-president of the Centre Islamique de Quebec, said his heart reaches out to those affected by the incident, in which a man drove a van into a group of Muslims leaving evening prayers, injuring nine people.

The man has been identified as 47-year-old Darren Osborne.

“We are very concerned about the escalation of killing,” said Labidi. “Especially in the front of the mosque in Great Britain, we are very concerned about that. We are sorry for the families of the victims and the injured. We hope people will be more safe because many people, by ignorance make these acts of terrorism, because of extremism on one side and the other side. We hope people understand each other and stop this escalation.”

Labidi said the attack has raised fears of similar acts on other mosques, including his own, by radicalized individuals who blame regular Muslims for terrorist acts.

“We are very concerned about that. Many people still amalgamate every time something happens, a killing by extremists,” he said. “We condemn all acts of terrorism by Muslims or not Muslims. We condemn it vigorously.”

He added that he and other Muslim leaders plan to approach Quebec City police to “increase their vigilance around our mosques.”