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The search for a motive continues after a man killed a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in the south of France, with the public prosecutor’s office considering whether the motive for the attack was Islamophobia.<\/p>\n
Police continue to search for the perpetrator, said to be a French man in his 20s who stabbed the young worshipper in the mosque in La Grand-Combe, north of Montpellier, up to 50 times on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
He then filmed the victim with his mobile phone, Le Parisien newspaper reported, citing a source familiar with the investigation.<\/p>\n
During the attack, the man reportedly shouted insults against Allah.<\/p>\n
Surveillance cameras at the mosque filmed the attack. At the time, the victim and the perpetrator were alone in the building, and it was not until mid-morning that other visitors to the prayer hall found the body.<\/p>\n
The suspect is still on the run.<\/p>\n
In terms of his motive, all hypotheses are being considered, including a “racist and Islamophobic” motive, said public prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini, according to French media reports.<\/p>\n
The public prosecutor said the priority was to catch the alleged perpetrator as quickly as possible, Le Monde newspaper reported.<\/p>\n
The suspect is considered to be potentially extremely dangerous, as he made confused statements on his video indicating his intention to act again.<\/p>\n
“Racism and hatred based on religion will never have a place in France,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Earlier, French Prime Minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou condemned the attack, calling it an “Islamophobic disgrace” in a post on X late on Saturday.<\/p>\n
“We stand with the victim’s loved ones and with the shocked believers,” he wrote, emphasizing that authorities are doing everything in their power to find and punish the perpetrator.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister G\u00e9rald Darmanin wrote of an “unspeakable act in a sacred religious building.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n