A mob armed with machetes dragged Legré, a printing press employee for the media group La Refondation, from his home in Koumassi and hacked him to death, according to local journalists and news reports. The assailants were believed to be supporters of Alassane Ouattara, the opposition party leader who was locked in a protracted electoral dispute at the time with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. (Ouattara was sworn in as president in May 2011.)
Legré's affiliation with La Refondation, publisher of the daily newspaper Notre Voie, which backed Gbagbo, was the likely motive, news reports said. Koumassi, an Abidjan suburb, was home to many Ouattara supporters.