A French police officer who swapped himself for a hostage in a supermarket siege on Friday has died, officials say.
Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame, 44, “fell as a hero” and showed “exceptional courage”, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
The gendarme helped bring an end to a gunman’s shooting spree that killed three in southern France.
The radical Islamist gunman, 25-year-old Redouane Lakdim, was shot dead as police brought the siege to an end.
Col Beltrame’s death was announced on Twitter by French Interior Minister Gérard Collomb.
In a radio interview on Saturday, Col Beltrame’s brother, Cedric, said Arnaud’s actions were “beyond the call of duty”.
“He gave his life for strangers. He must have known that he didn’t really have a chance. If that doesn’t make him a hero, I don’t know what would,” he said.
Flags were flown at half-mast at gendarmerie bases across France on Saturday.
Earlier, Mr Macron had revealed that Col Beltrame suffered serious injuries and was fighting for his life in hospital.
Sixteen people were injured, two seriously, in what Mr Macron called an act of “Islamist terrorism”.
Lakdim was said to have demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the most important surviving suspect in the 13 November 2015 attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people.
Prosecutors are reportedly questioning two people in connection with the attacks, one of whom is thought to be the gunman’s partner while the other is believed to be a friend.
Source: BBC
