French mosque stabbing suspect remains at large after killing Muslim worshipper

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PARIS — A man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in the south of France was still on the run Sunday, authorities said, in an incident described by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou as “Islamophobic.”

Both men were alone in the mosque in the former mining town of La Grand Combe on Friday when the victim was fatally stabbed. The assailant reportedly recorded the attack on his phone, and security camera footage showed him shouting insults at “Allah,” which means God in Arabic, local media said.

The Grand Mosque of Paris condemned the attack in a statement and said the victim had just finished cleaning the mosque when he was killed.

It called on authorities to quickly shed light on the reasons behind the attack, asking judicial authorities to say whether it is being treated as a “terrorist” act and to note its “scale and seriousness ... for the safety of all.”

Justice minister, Gerald Darmanin, decried Saturday a “despicable murder” that “wounds the hearts of all believers, of all Muslims in France.”

Bayrou also denounced an act of “islamophobic ignominy displayed on video.”

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with the victim’s family and the shocked worshippers,” he said. “The resources of the state are being mobilised to ensure that the murderer is caught and punished.””

The SOS Racisme campaign group joined the calls for more clarity and said it would take part in a march organized later Sunday at La Grand Combe in support of the victim.

The Associated Press