Investigation Continues into the Murder of Aboubakar Cissé in La Grand-Combe

One week following the death of Aboubakar Cissé, a 22-year-old Malian man murdered inside a mosque in La Grand-Combe, Gard, on April 25th, the Nîmes public prosecutor announced that the investigation has not revealed any prior connection between Cissé and his alleged killer.

During a press conference held on Friday, prosecutor Cécile Gensac stated that “progress has been made” in the investigation, although the suspect, Olivier Hadzovic, has not yet been formally handed over to French authorities. Hadzovic, a 21-year-old French national also residing in La Grand-Combe, “has agreed to be extradited to France because he wants to return home,” according to his Italian lawyer, Giovanni Salvietti, on Wednesday. The prosecutor anticipates that Hadzovic will be returned to France within a week.

Gensac provided background information on the victim, Aboubakar Cissé, highlighting his arrival in France in 2018 as an unaccompanied minor. She described Cissé as living a “blameless life,” and characterized him as “devoted” and “pleasant.” She emphasized that the mosque served as a sanctuary for him, offering a place to wash and rest. Reiterating the lack of evidence suggesting any previous interaction between Cissé and his attacker, Gensac underscored the random nature of the crime.

The prosecutor also addressed the involvement of the Parquet National Antiterroriste (PNAT), the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office. The PNAT is currently "evaluating" the case in close collaboration with the Nîmes prosecutor’s office. Gensac clarified that while the targeting of a victim based on race or religion is a factor considered by the PNAT, it does not automatically trigger their involvement. "There is, at this stage, no terrorist qualification," she asserted, emphasizing that the crime appeared to have been committed "in an isolated context without ideological claim."

According to Gensac, the attack seemed driven by an "obsessive desire to kill someone," evidenced by the 57 wounds found on Cissé’s body. The PNAT will continue to monitor the judicial investigation closely. The investigation, now under the purview of an investigating judge in the criminal division of Nîmes, was formally opened on Monday, focusing on "murder aggravated by premeditation and on the basis of race or religion."

The prosecutor reconstructed the events of April 25th based on available evidence. Aboubakar Cissé arrived at the Khadidja mosque in La Grand-Combe, a small town of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants north of Alès, around 6:00 AM. Olivier Hadzovic arrived at the religious building at 8:45 AM on a bicycle. He entered the mosque for approximately four minutes, then exited. He re-entered the mosque shortly thereafter, produced a knife, and attacked Cissé at the neck. He then allegedly inflicted "around twenty stabs" before briefly moving away and then returning to continue the assault. Afterward, Hadzovic allegedly filmed his victim. The autopsy revealed a total of 57 wounds. The prosecutor confirmed that a video of the murder began circulating on social media.

Information gleaned from online activity has also been revealed. In the days leading up to the murder, Hadzovic had been banned from a TikTok account, and his Discord server was deleted. A young woman who was a member of the Discord group described Hadzovic as a "mentally ill" individual who expressed desires to rape women, commit murder, or engage in necrophilia. Two days before the attack, this young woman and a friend reported Hadzovic’s intentions to the Pharos platform, a French online platform for reporting illegal content.

The prosecutor relayed that the young woman indicated that Hadzovic had expressed his intention to "physically attack someone, without specifying who or where, and without referring to ethnicity or religion, driven by a fierce desire to kill someone and, failing that, to commit suicide, all as a liberating act." Gensac then detailed Hadzovic’s online activity on the day of the murder.

On the morning of April 25th, Hadzovic allegedly posted, "I’m going to do it today, I’m going to do it in the street." An online contact responded, "Do you know him?" Hadzovic replied, "No." He then wrote, "Am I going to attack the mosque? I don’t have much of an idea." Once at the mosque, he allegedly wrote, "He is black (referring to his intended victim), I’m going to do it."

Immediately after the murder, in a video he recorded facing the dying Cissé, Hadzovic reportedly said twice, "I did it (…), your shitty Allah." He then continued, saying that he needed to commit "two new acts to become a serial killer."

Olivier Hadzovic, who has no prior criminal record, was born in Béziers (Hérault) on October 19, 2004, and is one of eleven children. On Sunday evening, accompanied by an aunt and a lawyer, he surrendered to police in Pistoia, near Florence, Italy. His brother told investigators that he had never witnessed Hadzovic display violence, except for one instance of "hateful comments about Muslims." His uncle, however, expressed doubts about Hadzovic’s usage of social media. Hadzovic has admitted to the murder of Aboubakar Cissé but denies that it was motivated by hatred of Islam.

Members of Aboubakar Cissé’s family, along with representatives of the Haut Conseil des Maliens de France (High Council of Malians in France), are scheduled to meet with the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, in Paris at Place Beauvau on Monday. This meeting underscores the government’s commitment to addressing the concerns of the Malian community in France and ensuring that the investigation into Cissé’s murder is conducted thoroughly and transparently. The outcome of the investigation and the subsequent trial will be closely watched, as they will likely have significant implications for community relations and the ongoing debate about the role of social media in radicalization and violence. The focus remains on justice for Aboubakar Cissé and preventing such tragedies in the future.