The French police officer who offered himself up in a hostage swap Friday after an armed man yelling “Allahu akbar” went on a rampage in southern France has died, a report said early Saturday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, 44, died after being seriously injured in the attack. Macron said Beltrame “fell as a hero” and “showed exceptional courage.”
“Arnaud Beltrame died in the service of the nation to which he had already given so much,” Macron said in a statement. “In giving his life to end the deadly plan of a jihadi terrorist, he fell as a hero.”
Col. Arnaud Beltrame “died for his country,” a French government official said. (Associated Press)
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb wrote in a tweet early Saturday that Beltrame had “died for his country.”
The officer had 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.
Full article: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03/24/french-cop-who-swapped-himself-for-hostages-has-died-official-says.html