In the Marseille assassination of Mehdi Kessaci, the police are investigating the possibility of mistaken identity.

In Marseille, the investigation into the execution of Mehdi Kessaci is progressing in successive layers, like those cases where each breakthrough reveals a new area of ​​uncertainty. Since the indictment in March of six people suspected of participating in the operation, investigators are now examining a potentially far-reaching hypothesis: that of mistaken identity. In other words, Mehdi Kessaci could have been killed instead of his brother Amine, a local figure committed to fighting drug trafficking and now deputy mayor, who was placed under police protection after threats were reported last summer.

The judicial police services in charge of the case remain cautious. The lead is "under investigation," without being presented as "a priority or the only one," according to a source close to the investigation. The six suspects charged are described as support links, "logistics operatives" who allegedly carried out reconnaissance in the days leading up to the attack, with the intention of "giving the go-ahead" to the commando. The scenario, if confirmed, paints a picture of a cold, calculated pattern: a group observes, provides information, then gunmen, mounted on a two-wheeler, strike quickly and vanish into thin air.

The commando, the "logistics experts," and a signal that went wrong

This is where the theory of mistaken identity takes hold. A commando unit still at large could have acted "blindly," relying on the transmitted signal, and that signal could have targeted the wrong man. Amine Kessaci himself expressed this doubt in the weeks following his brother's death, with words that bring a lump to the throat: "I have so many questions. The question that troubles me most is whether they mistook me for my brother or not. Did they do it deliberately to send me a message?" In La Provence, he said he remained "cautious," while uttering this haunting phrase: "On my hands, I see my brother's blood."

The case remains in the hands of the criminal investigation unit of the DCOS 13 (Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Operational Center) and the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime, under the direction of the national anti-organized crime prosecutor's office. Authorities quickly characterized the events as a "warning crime" or "intimidation," indicating that the case goes beyond a simple family tragedy and touches upon the codes of a violence that seeks to mark territory, a name, a public voice. It remains to be seen whether investigators will uncover a failure in the chain of command or, on the contrary, a calculated setup, and what this truth will reveal about the level of organization that still thrives on the streets of Marseille.