Muslim Employee Saved Lives in Attack on Paris Kosher Supermarket

By Haaretz

11 January 15

When Islamist gunman stormed into supermarket, Lassana Bathily let customers into store's basement freezer, told them to stay in while he kept lookout.

uick thinking by a Muslim employee may have saved the lives of 15 customers in the kosher supermarket in Paris during a deadly terrorist attack on Friday, Buzzfeed reports.

When the Islamist gunman broke into the store, Lassana Bathily, a 24-year-old Muslim from the African country of Mali, told customers to hide in the store's basement freezer.

Closing the freezer's doors, he told the customers to wait calmly inside while he keeps a lookout. After police raided the supermarket and killed gunman Amedy Coulibaly, the hostages emerged safely from the freezer.

Bathily's actions did not go unnoticed on social media.

A true hero of the hostage crisis in the kosher grocery store yesterday, 24-year old Lassana Bathily managed to... http://t.co/dWFecZkJi2

— #worldwithjan (@worldwithjan) January 10, 2015

Respect à Lassana Bathily, gros respect.

— Alvs (@Jo95zey) January 10, 2015

Appreciation for Bathily followed social media accolades for another Muslim involved in the attacks – police officer Ahmed Merabet, 40, killed during the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine's offices, that killed another 11 people.

A hashtag honoring Merabet, #JeSuisAhmed, gained popularity on social media as more people expressed solidarity with the Muslim police officer who was gunned down outside the satirical magazine's office. Others used the hashtag not just to honor Merabet, but also to defend Islam.