Italian police arrest French suspect in ‘anti-Muslim' mosque murder

Al Jazeera

28-04-2025

Italian police have arrested a man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in southern France in an 'Islamophobic attack'.
The suspect turned himself in at a police station near Florence late on Sunday, two days after the attack at the mosque in La Grand Combe, a former mining town in the Gard region. The murder of the Malian man has been condemned as an 'anti-Muslim' and 'racist' crime.
The French Ministry of the Interior confirmed that the suspect, born in 2004 and with no previous criminal record, had crossed into Italy before surrendering.
The public prosecutor of the southern city of Ales in Gard, Abdelkrim Grini, told BFM TV that police had been tracking the suspect after he fled France, adding: 'It was only a matter of time before we got our hands on him.'
'The anti-Muslim motivation is the preferred lead,' he added, but noted that authorities were also exploring other motives, including a 'fascination with death'.
Authorities launched a manhunt on Friday following the attack, which was captured on the suspect's phone and later circulated online.
Security footage reportedly showed the attacker shouting insults towards God before carrying out the assault.
France will quickly start extradition procedures, Grini said. 'We will do all we can to have him back as soon as possible.'President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack, declaring: 'Racism and hatred based on religion will never have a place in France. Religious freedom is inviolable.'
Earlier, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou branded the attack as 'Islamophobic'.
The Grand Mosque of Paris identified the victim, named locally as Aboubakar, as a young man in his 20s who had been cleaning the mosque shortly before he was attacked.
Demonstrations in support of the victim were held over the weekend in La Grand Combe and Paris, with activists demanding stronger action against anti-Muslim violence.
France is home to Europe's largest Muslim population, making up about 10 percent of the country.