Gun attack in French supermarket, a police officer being as hostage

News24xx.com -  A gunman attacked a supermarket in southern France on Friday, March 23 2018, killing three people during a shooting spree. 

He took a civilian as a hostage, but a heroic police officer swapped himself for the hostage during the attack. The officer, Arnaud Beltrame (45), is still in critical condition in the hospital.

The gunman, Redouane Lakdim said he had attacked on behalf of IS group. He demanded the release of Salah Abdesalam, the surviving suspect of the attacks on November 13 2015 in Paris, which caused the death of 130 people. He was shot dead during the attack. Three people were dead and 16 others were injured.

The incident began when Lakdim hijacked a civilian’s car on Friday morning. He killed one passenger and injured the driver. He then shot a police officer who was jogging with his colleagues, before driving toward the Super-U supermarket and drove right into it. He killed two people, which were a customer and a store employee and made other people in there as hostages.

While the police could get most of the hostages out of the supermarket, Lakdim held one woman behind as a human shield. This was when Beltrame stepped in and offered to take her place as a hostage. 

He left his mobile phone on the table with open line so the police could monitor the situation. Gunshots were heard and the team rushed into the supermarket. Lakdim was dead but Beltrame was seriously injured.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Gerard Collomb praised Beltrame for his courage and heroism, saying that he had saved lives and honored his country.

 

 

 

 

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