Hero cop who swapped himself for hostage dies in France

The gunman first hijacked a car and opened fire on police, then took hostages inside a supermarket

Arnaud Beltrame

A French police officer who offered himself up to an extremist gunman in exchange for a hostage has died of his injuries, the interior minister said. Col Arnaud Beltrame was among the first officers to respond to the attack on the supermarket in France on Friday. His death, announced by Gerard Collomb, raises the toll to four. The gunman was also killed, and 15 people were injured in the attack.

The gunman first hijacked a car and opened fire on police, then took hostages inside a supermarket. Beltrame volunteered to take the place of a female hostage and left on his cellphone so police outside could hear what was happening inside the store.

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