Showing posts with label French hero dies at age 45. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French hero dies at age 45. Show all posts

Monday, March 26, 2018

French hero dies at age 45


Pictured: Hero French police officer's emotional partner who married him in hospital just hours before he died after being gunned down by ISIS terrorist

  • Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 44, was barely breathing during ceremony
  • His partner, Marielle, was in floods of tears before he succumbed to his wounds
  • 'He held his hands in the air, and suggested he would be a better hostage than a civilian,' said an investigating source 
By Peter Allen In Paris and Barbara Jones In Carcassonne For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 23:24 BST, 24 March 2018 | Updated: 15:58 BST, 25 March 2018
Marielle (pictured) was in floods of tears before the decorated officer succumbed to his wounds
Marielle (pictured) was in floods of tears before the decorated officer succumbed to his wounds
The 'national hero' French gendarme gunned down by an Islamic State terrorist was married by a Catholic priest in the hours leading up to his death yesterday.
Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 44, was barely breathing as the hugely moving ceremony was performed in a hospital in Carcassonne, south-west France.
His partner, Marielle, was in floods of tears as they said prayers before the decorated officer succumbed to his wounds.
Beltrame was part of the police team that raced to the supermarket in Trébes where terrorist Redouane Lakdim had taken hostages. He walked inside in an effort to free a woman who was being held as a human shield.
'He held his hands in the air, and suggested he would be a better hostage than a civilian,' said an investigating source.
'An element of trust was built up, and the officer managed to place his phone on a table while it was still connected to his colleagues outside. As the woman was released, shooting was heard, and that's when a specialist team went in to kill the terrorist.'
In the meantime Lieut Col Beltrame had been shot at least four times with a 7.65mm firearm and stabbed repeatedly around the top half of his body, including his head. French-Moroccan Lakdim, 26, had already killed three other people while screaming his support for IS before he attacked Lieut Col Beltrame.
Yesterday's marriage service was held close to where Lieut Col Beltrame had helped to end Friday's rampage. He had already undergone a civil marriage service with Marielle, a vet at the Sigean African animal reserve, near Narbonne, last year.
The couple had been planning a church wedding in June with family and friends, after meeting in 2016 during a guided tour of an abbey in France.

Arnaud Beltrame (pictured) was seriously wounded after agreeing to take the place of a female hostage during a terrifying stand-off in Trebes, France. He married his partner in a moving ceremony in hospital hours before passing away


Arnaud Beltrame (pictured) was seriously wounded after agreeing to take the place of a female hostage during a terrifying stand-off in Trebes, France. He married his partner in a moving ceremony in hospital hours before passing away

Forty-five-year-old Beltrame (pictured) was knighted the Legion of Honor in May 2012

Forty-five-year-old Beltrame (pictured) was knighted the Legion of Honor in May 2012
Benedictine monk Father Jean-Baptiste yesterday described how the couple had already 'spent some 30 hours preparing for their marriage ceremony' in the summer.
Father Jean-Baptise said he had 'prayed that the marriage would take place', and he performed it just before reading out the last rites to Lieut Col Beltrame.
'I gave him the sacrament of marriage, and the sacrament of the sick,' he said, adding that the policeman was 'an extremely intelligent and courageous man' who had 'found his faith'. Prime Minister Theresa May said: 'I am saddened to learn that Lieut Col Arnaud Beltrame, the gendarme who took the place of a hostage in the attack at Trèbes, has died. His sacrifice and courage will never be forgotten.'
Lieut Col Beltrame's brother, Cedric, said his actions were 'beyond the call of duty'.
He added: 'He gave his life for strangers. He must have known that he didn't really have a chance. If that doesn't make him a hero, I don't know what would.'

Armed officers stand guard outside the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne, where flowera have been laid in commemoration of Beltrame and his courageous sacrifice

Armed officers stand guard outside the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne, where flowera have been laid in commemoration of Beltrame and his courageous sacrifice

People laid flowers in front of the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne in tribute to Beltrame 

People laid flowers in front of the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne in tribute to Beltrame 

Beltrame's mother, who has not been named, said: 'He's someone who ever since he was born did everything for his country. He would tell me, 'Mum, I do my job. That's all.' '
French Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said Lieut Col Beltrame 'fell as a national hero' and 'died for his country'. French President Emmanuel Macron added: 'He saved lives and honoured his colleagues and his country.'

Beltrame (pictured) was a qualified parachutist who served in Iraq in 2005

Beltrame (pictured) was a qualified parachutist who served in Iraq in 2005
Surgeons worked all night to try to save Lieut Col Beltrame, but his death was announced early on Saturday morning.
The manageress of Super-U, Samia Menassi, stayed with gendarmes outside the supermarket throughout the hostage ordeal to help them with the layout of the shop and possible whereabouts of the gunman. Ms Menassi told a friend: 'The police were incredibly brave. Without their courage and speed, it would have been carnage.'
It has since emerged that the terrorist was known to the French security services as a potential Islamist radical, but he had not been placed under surveillance.
He lived with his parents on a council estate in Carcassonne, and before carrying out the killings took one of his younger sisters to school.
Lakdim began his rampage by holding up a car in Carcassonne, 60 miles south of Toulouse, killing a passenger with a bullet to the head and then wounding the driver.
He then fired six times at four off-duty riot police officers who were returning to their base after a run. One officer was wounded in the shoulder. Lakdim then drove nine miles to Trèbes, where he stormed Super-U screaming 'Allahu Akbar [Arabic for 'God is the Greatest'], I'll kill you all'.
Among those murdered in the supermarket was a butcher, while dozens of others were wounded.
Mr Collomb described Lakdim as a 'radicalised petty criminal and small-time drug dealer'.

France was in mourning on Saturday and flowers were laid at the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne in tribute to the officer

France was in mourning on Saturday and flowers were laid at the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne in tribute to the officer
During the siege, Lakdim called for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving member of the terrorist cell that carried out the November 2015 attacks on Paris, in which 130 people were murdered.
Abdeslam, 28, who is also from a French-Moroccan background, is currently awaiting trial in solitary confinement in a high-security prison near Paris.
IS described Lakdim as one of their 'soldiers', saying he was responding to the group's calls to target countries in the coalition carrying out air strikes against the so-called IS caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
France has been hit by a string of jihadist attacks since 2015 and remains on a high state of alert.
Trèbes is in an area popular with British second-home-owners and holidaymakers. 




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I didnt realise he diedl. RIP our hero. I hope the scum are dealt with by Lord Jesus xxx

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Outstanding young man.....above and beyond the call.

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How could he consent to a marriage when he was barely breathing?

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A true hero

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A true hero

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Marielle be proud always of your heroic man. He will remain a legend to decent people all over the world. RIP brave man

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He was and is a true hero no other word for him Rest in peace

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Your wording of this article is a disgrace. Who wouldn't be emotional.

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That is a brave man. I hope is family get all the support they need. God bless.

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The word hero is used too often nowadays but in this case justified. A true hero.

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Sunday, March 25, 2018

French hero dies at age 45



French policeman dies ‘a hero’ after militant supermarket attack

Grand Mosque of Paris says Muslim community joins mourning for man who fell 'heroically under the bullets' of 'terrorist'
French Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame in 2013 (AFP/file photo)
Saturday 24 March 2018 18:17 UTC
Last update: 
Saturday 24 March 2018 18:19 UTC
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A French policeman who died after offering himself in exchange for a hostage in a supermarket siege was hailed a hero on Saturday, as anti-terror investigators probed the most serious attack of Emmanuel Macron's presidency. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 45, was shot and stabbed after taking the place of a woman whom gunman Radouane Lakdim had been using as a human shield during Friday's attack in the southwestern town of Trebes near the Pyrenees mountains.
Beltrame, who once served in Iraq, died of his wounds early Saturday, becoming the fourth victim in the shooting spree claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.  
Macron led tributes to the elite officer, saying Beltrame "died a hero" and deserved "the respect and admiration of the whole nation".
The Grand Mosque of Paris, the largest in the country, said the Muslim community joined in mourning for a man who had "fallen heroically under the bullets of the terrorist Redouane Lakdim in the exercise of his mission."
British Prime Minister Theresa May hailed Beltrame's courage and sacrifice on Twitter, saying they would never be forgotten.
The 25-year-old gunman had already killed the supermarket's butcher and a customer before shooting Beltrame, prompting police to move in and kill the attacker.
Earlier Friday, Lakdim hijacked a car in nearby Carcassonne and shot the two people inside, killing the passenger and leaving the Portuguese driver in a critical condition.
He also shot and wounded a police officer out jogging.
Lakdim, a petty criminal who had been monitored over fears he had been radicalised, was armed with a gun, knife and homemade explosive devices, a security source said.
His partner and a 17-year-old friend were in custody as investigators sought to understand events leading up to the attack.
Investigators found notes at Lakdim's home which referred to IS, a legal source said, including a hand-written letter in which he claimed allegiance to the group. 
The shootings come as France remains on high alert following a string of deadly attacks that have killed more than 240 people since 2015.
Lakdim, a Moroccan-born French national, fit a familiar profile as a petty criminal who had turned to extremism.
A small-time drug-dealer, his rap sheet included convictions for carrying a banned weapon and for drug use. He spent a month in jail in 2016.
"He had been on a watchlist for his radicalisation and links to the Salafist movement," said top anti-terror prosecutor Francois Molins.
But Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said that ultimately, authorities had concluded Lakdim did not pose a risk. "He did this suddenly," Collomb said.

Evolving nature of IS

Lakdim burst into the supermarket "shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) and saying he was a soldier of the Islamic State, ready to die for Syria", Molins said. 
He further demanded the release of certain prisoners - notably, according to a security source, Salah Abdeslam, prime suspect in the November 2015 Paris terror attacks.  
IS claimed the attack was in response to its call to target Western enemies, as is customary when the assailant has pledged allegiance to the militants.
Experts said the attack showed the evolving nature of the IS threat, seeking to inspire lone-wolf attacks in its name as its self-proclaimed "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq crumbles.
"The persistence of the homegrown threat has largely escaped public debate in comparison to concern over jihadists coming home after fighting in Syria and Iraq," said Jean-Pierre Filiu, Middle Eastern Studies professor at Sciences Po university.
France has suffered a series of major terror attacks over the past three years, including the massacre at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 in Paris, and the 2016 Bastille Day truck attack in Nice.
A state of emergency after the Paris attacks was only lifted in October and thousands of troops continue to patrol the streets under an anti-terror operation.
Police union Synergie noted that France's security forces have become "particular targets for supporters of this deadly extremist ideology".
Beltrame is the ninth police officer or soldier to be killed since 2012 by militants in France, a country that is part of the US-led coalition fighting IS.
Beltrame was a qualified parachutist who served in Iraq in 2005. He also worked as part of the elite Republican Guard that protects the presidential Elysee Place offices and residence in Paris, Macron said.
The attack has rocked Trebes, a sleepy town of 5,000 located on the picturesque Canal du Midi.
"We thought this only happened in big towns," said a 52-year-old restaurant-owner who gave her name as Khadija.  
Supermarket boss Samia Menassi, whose store remains closed and surrounded by police tape, was still in shock on Saturday as she recalled hearing the first gunshots.
"I said to the girls, 'Call the police, there's a terrorist in the shop'," she told AFP.
"We felt powerless because we still had colleagues in there."
Of about 50 people in the store at the time, most were able to get out through an emergency exit, some after sheltering in a meat refrigerator.
The news of Beltrame's death was first announced by France's interior minister, who said in a Twitter post: "Dead for his country. France will never forget his heroism, bravery and sacrifice."


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Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel sings  'Try to remember' especially for Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund at Vita Magica September

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Betty MacDonald 

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Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( Polski)   

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - LinkFang ( German ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Academic ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel -   

Wolfgang Hampel - DBpedia  ( English / German )

Wolfgang Hampel - people check ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Memim ( English )

Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

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Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I  
 
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