Overview
- The Lyon prosecutor opened a voluntary homicide investigation and assigned it to the specialized DCOS unit.
- The assailant wounded Ashur Sarnaya in the throat outside his building in the city’s 9th arrondissement before fleeing on foot.
- Authorities are examining religious, criminal, political and drug-related leads, and no hypothesis is currently prioritized.
- Investigators are reviewing the victim’s online activity, and a video of his final moments is circulating despite the Rhône prefecture’s request that it not be relayed.
- Sarnaya, a wheelchair user with refugee status who lived with his sister and shared Christian content on TikTok, is being mourned as some political figures cite a religious motive that police have not corroborated.