A gendarme who was shot three times after voluntarily taking the place of a hostage during a supermarket siege in southwestern France on Friday has died, French authorities announced Saturday. Police gather outside the supermarket in Trebes, southern France, on Friday. He offered to trade places with a hostage the attacker was still holding, whereafter he took her place and left his mobile phone on a table, line open. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible attack in France yesterday, and we grieve the nation’s loss. Macron said of Beltrame: "In offering himself as a hostage to the terrorist holed up in the Trebes supermarket, Lt-Col. Beltrame saved the life of a civilian hostage, showing exceptional self-sacrifice and courage."

Source: CBC News March 24, 2018 10:41 UTC