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A young Muslim man has been hailed a hero for hiding hostages fleeing gunman Amedy Coulibaly after he stormed a Jewish supermarket.
Lassana Bathily, originally from Mali in west Africa, reportedly shepherded terrified customers to safety in a walk-in chiller as the jihadist gunman took hold of the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Porte de Vincennes, Paris, on Friday.
Coulibaly executed four of the 19 hostages before police entered the building and ended the assault, killing the gunman as he ran to the front door.
Lassana Bathily has been hailed a hero after his actions during the Hyper Cacher hostage siege
(BFMTV)
Mr Bathily has been praised for his quick-thinking actions since his role in helping customers. He told BFMTV: "When they ran down, I opened the door (from the freezer).
"There are several people who came to me. I turned off the light, I turned off the freezer.
Show all 25 1 /25In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Members of the French police special forces evacuate the hostages after launching the assault at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Members of the French police special forces evacuate the hostages after launching the assault at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack A security officer directs released hostages after they stormed a kosher market to end a hostage situation
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Members of the French police special forces evacuate the hostages including a child (C) after launching the assault at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack A general view of members of the French police special forces launching the assault at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack French police forcibly stop young people on a scooter as they arrive near the scene of a hostage taking at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack French police forcibly stop at gun point young people on a scooter as they arrive near the scene of a hostage taking at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack French police special forces evacuate local residents in Saint-Mande, near Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack People are led away from the scene as Police mobilize with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack People are led away from the scene as Police mobilize with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police are mobilized (L) with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police are mobilized with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police mobilize with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Members of the French police special force advance with their equipment near the scene of a hostage taking at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police gather with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police officers gather on the closed ring road that circles Paris near a hostage-taking situation at a kosher market i
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Emergency services workers arrive at a hostage-taking situation at a kosher market in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Members of the French police special force RAID take position in Saint-Mande, near Porte de Vincennes
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police arrive with guns at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police arrive with guns at Port de Vincennes in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police mobilize with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Hooded police officers cross the closed ring road that circles Paris near a hostage-taking situation at a kosher market in Paris
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack Police forces arrive at the scene where suspected armed man has taken hostages in kosher grocery in Paris
@Fiaxhs
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack A general view of the scene of a hostages taking at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris
@Fiaxhs
In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris Kosher grocery attack A general view of the scene of a hostages taking at a kosher supermarket (seen in rear) in eastern Paris
@Fiaxhs
"When I turned off the cold, I put them (hostages) in, I closed the door, I told them to stay calm."
Reports in France state Mr Bathily, 24, helped lead six people to safety.
Several people called for Mr Bathily to be recognised for his actions as details of the episode emerged.
One tweet from worldwithjan read: "A true hero of the hostage crisis in the kosher grocery store yesterday."
Additional reporting by PA
