Kosher grocery employee, a Muslim, hailed as hero for
hiding customers
(CNN)A young Muslim man is being hailed as a hero in French newspapers and social media for
his actions during Friday's deadly hostage situation in a Paris supermarket.
Lassana Bathily, an employee at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in Vincennes, helped
guide a group of hostages into a downstairs walk-in freezer while gunman Amedy Coulibaly was
allegedly preparing to kill them, according to French television station, BFMTV.
Bathily, a "practicing Muslim," says he entered the freezer with some people, then switched off
the freezer and the light and told everyone to stay calm, according to BFMTV.
"I'm the one (who) is going to go out," he reportedly told them. "I took the elevator and went
upstairs."
"[Coulibaly] asked us to all come upstairs, otherwise he would kill everyone who was
downstairs," Bathily, 24, said to BFMTV.
He exited a freight elevator and ran outside. Bathily, originally from Mali, was apprehended by
police, but helped them by describing the location of the freezer.
"When [the hostages] came out, they congratulated me," Bathily told BFMTV.
The exact number of hostages who remained safe in the freezer is unknown, according to French
newspaper L'Express.
Coulibaly was killed in the ensuing shootout with police. Authorities said Coulibaly killed four
Jewish hostages.
Rudi Hadad, among those in the freezer, said that a few others went back upstairs during the
incident.
Praise was heaped on Bathily via Facebook.
Gwadelle Edom said, "Lass, I have no words to express my pride in you. You put your life in
danger to save others. God saw all of it, and his mercy will be without fault. You are blessed in
the eyes of humanity."
A man who claims to be Bathily's cousin, Abdoul Bathily, posted, "Bravo to my cousin, Lass
Bathily, you showed courage yesterday, the rest of the world would not have done it."
France's "L'Express" newspaper ran a headline titled, "Lassana Bathily, 'musulman malien,' héros
de la prise d'otages de Vincennes," or "Lassana Bathily, 'Malian Muslim,' hero of the hostage
situation in Vincennes."
1. Predict the outcome of this situation if all of the hostages would have went back up stairs at the
supermarket instead of staying hidden in the walk in freezer.
2. How can some individuals(such as Bathily) react and assist others in a situation such as this
while others have trouble just performing a very simple task(such as walking or talking)?