Muslim Man Murdered, Stabbed Over 40 Times in Mosque in France

Rabat – An unidentified man killed a fellow mosque goer, stabbing him 40 or 50 times on Friday morning in a mosque located in La Grand Combe, a town in the Gard department in southern France, according to AFP.

The suspect fled the scene after the stabbing incident, and the public prosecutor of Ales said the stabber was also a mosque goer.

“Two men were alone inside the mosque, engaged in prayer, when one of them delivered several dozen stab wounds to the other around 8:30 a.m.,” prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini told AFP.

The suspect was neither identified nor arrested at this stage, the prosecutor said. 

The victim’s body was also not identified, but it was discovered at 11:30 a.m., when other mosque goers entered the mosque for Friday prayers. 

The full scope of his wounds will be confirmed in the autopsy, the public prosecutor added, saying that they have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the case.

AFP shed light on the town of the crime, La Grande Come, describing it as a former mining town with about 5,000 residents. It added that the community is experiencing the highest unemployment rates in the region since the end of coal mining operations.

AFP also recalled a similar tragedy that took place in February 2023, when an 18-year-old girl was killed by her cousin’s former partner.