|
In this image dated March 2013 and provided by regional newspaper Ouest
France, Arnaud Beltrame poses for a photo in Avranches, western France.
The officer who offered to be swapped for a female hostage was
identified as Col. Arnaud Beltrame. He managed to surreptitiously leave
his phone on so that police outside could hear what was going on inside
the supermarket — and crucially, decide when to storm it. (Ouest France
via AP)
|
TREBES, France (AP) — A French
police officer who offered himself up to an Islamic extremist gunman in
exchange for a hostage has died, raising the death toll in the attack in
southern France to four. He was honored Saturday as a national hero of
"exceptional courage and selflessness."
Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, 44, was among the first officers to respond
to the attack Friday on the supermarket in the southern French town of
Trebes.