Describing the events, Collomb said gendarmes had acted quickly to evacuate some of the people inside the supermarket. One officer offered to exchange himself for a female hostage. The gunman agreed, and the gendarme stayed with him while others were evacuated. The gendarme left his phone on the table, so security forces could hear what was going on inside.
Later, when a shot was heard inside the store, security forces immediately intervened and shot the gunman dead, Collomb said. The gendarme who had offered to take the place of a hostage was there until the end of the three-hour ordeal and had been badly wounded. The interior minister praised his heroism.