French hero officer who swapped himself for hostage dies

Top Stories

French hero officer who swapped himself for hostage dies

France - Beltrame was grievously injured, and his death raises the toll from the attack to four.

By AP

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Sat 24 Mar 2018, 9:10 AM

Last updated: Sat 24 Mar 2018, 4:28 PM

France's top security official says a heroic officer who swapped himself for a hostage during an attack on a supermarket has died of his injuries.
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb wrote in a tweet early Saturday that Col. Arnaud Beltrame had "died for his country."
Beltrame offered himself up unarmed to the 25-year-old attacker in exchange for a female hostage. He managed to surreptitiously leave his cellphone on so that police outside could hear what was going on inside the supermarket. Officials said once they heard shots inside the market they decided to storm it, killing the gunman.
Beltrame was grievously injured, and his death raises the toll from the attack to four.
The Daesh group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since Emmanuel Macron became president last May.
 


More news from