Suspect at Large After Fatal Stabbing in French Mosque

The suspect behind Friday morning’s deadly stabbing at a mosque in La Grand-Combe, France, remains on the run, according to the Ales public prosecutor’s office.

New information has surfaced about the attack, which left a 23 or 24-year-old worshipper dead. Reports from Franceinfo indicate that the suspect filmed himself after the stabbing, displaying a knife and making offensive comments about “Allah” and the dying victim.

Authorities are investigating whether the attack was motivated by Islamophobia, local media reported.

Ales public prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini stated that the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) is closely following the investigation, although it has not officially taken charge of the case. Grini added that the victim was a regular attendee at the Trescol mosque, located in a hamlet of La Grand-Combe, while the suspect was unknown to the community.

Surveillance footage from inside and outside the mosque captured the suspect, who appears unfamiliar to both mosque-goers and local residents.

According to Le Parisien, after stabbing the victim multiple times, the attacker recorded the scene on his phone.

In the wake of the tragedy, the La Grand-Combe community has launched efforts to raise funds to repatriate the victim, identified as Aboubakar, to his family in Mali.