The Daily Mail has published the first moving images of the tense hostage situation unfolding inside a kosher deli in Paris, which was attacked by jihadist gunman Amedy Coulibaly on January 9.
Coulibaly killed four people inside the Hyper Cacher store before police killed him after a four-hour standoff.
Witnesses told authorities that employee Yohan Cohen “grabbed one of Coulibaly’s rifles” and pointed it at the terrorist, but it did not function. Coulibaly “shot him in cold blood and he died on the spot.” He also killed Yoav Hattab, Francois-Michel Saada, and Philipe Braham.
The footage shows Coulibaly walking in the aisles in a bulletproof vest as he held 19 people hostage. He told customers to disable the cameras, but the footage recorded remotely on a hard drive. Customers gathered at the checkout lanes, while others hid in freezers for the four hours.
Coulibaly announced to his hostages that he “coordinated his attack” with brothers Said and Chief Kouachi, who murdered twelve people at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters on January 7. Coulibaly murdered policewoman Clarissa Jean-Philippe on January 8. As he took over the deli, the Kouachis holed themselves in a printing press. A customer was forced to call a TV station for Coulibaly, and as he bragged about his murders, a customer called the police.
“A policeman told me that we should be ready to throw ourselves flat on the ground when the assault came, which would be soon,” said one man, known as Mickael B. “It was obvious that the terrorist was preparing to die. He said it was his reward. He had a weapon in each hand and boxes of cartridges nearby. He suddenly began to pray.”
After he prayed, he “charged at officers as they prepared to detonate explosives at the front of the store.” Officers killed him and freed the hostages. Right before the takedown, officers killed the Kouachi brothers.
The deaths ended three of the bloodiest days in France in recent history.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.