A French police officer who asked a gunman to let him take the place of a hostage in a supermarket attack has died.
The attacker killed three people and wounded 16 others when he took hostages in a supermarket in the French city of Trèbes on Friday. Authorities are treating it as a terrorist attack.
Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame was shot during the attack and hospitalized. French interior minister, Gerard Collomb, announced his death in a tweet Saturday.
“France will never forget his heroism, his bravery, his sacrifice,” Collomb said.
Beltrame offered to exchange himself for one of the female hostages held inside the Super U supermarket during the attack. He was shot while entering the supermarket.
When he went inside the supermarket, he left his phone on so police could hear his interactions with the gunman, Collomb said.
As soon as they heard gunfire, police went in and killed the gunman.