QUEBEC CITY — Gunmen opened fire during evening prayers Sunday in a mosque in Quebec City, killing five people, the president of the center said.

Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre president Mohamed Yangui said the shooting happened in the men’s section of the mosque and he worried that some of the five dead were children. Talking in a phone interview, he said he wasn’t at the center when the attack occurred but he received details from people on the scene.

He said an estimated 60-100 people would have been there at the time of the shooting.

Several other people were injured, local media reported.

Witnesses said that as many as three gunmen fired at the center, according to the Montreal Gazette.

‘‘Why is this happening here? This is barbaric,’’ the Yangui told Reuters.

Details of the attack were scant, and authorities did not confirm the number of fatalities. Quebec City police spokesman Constable Pierre Poirier, however, said two suspects were arrested.

‘‘The situation is under control, the premises are secure, and the occupants were evacuated,’’ police said in a tweet. ‘‘The investigation is ongoing.’’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack ‘‘cowardly’’ and said Canadians grieved for the victims.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard condemned the attacks in a tweet and called for solidarity with Muslims in Quebec. ‘‘Quebec categorically rejects this barbaric violence,’’ he said.

The mosque is located near Laval University, which has a large community of international students, many from French-speaking Africa.

In June, someone left a bloody pig’s head wrapped in cellophane and ribbon on the doorstep of the mosque, along with a note reading ‘‘Bonne appétit,’’ as the Washington Post reported at the time.

Globe wire services