--- description: Reportedly hid multiple survivors in freezer to hide them from gunman title: Lassana Bathily, Muslim Employee of Kosher Grocery, Hailed as Hero image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd571a9a4eea79c9/6987794406f2c144f233352d/charlie-hebdo-terrorism-kosher-grocery.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Muslim Man Hailed as Hero for Actions in Kosher Grocery Store Attack  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 10, 2015 7:00 PM CUT  Esther Bekerman, 19, left, a cousin of one of the hostages, and Eliahou Rouas Cohen, 19, right, light a candle at a makeshift memorial near a kosher grocery store where four hostages were killed in Paris, Jan. 10, 2015. Esther Bekerman, 19, left, a cousin of one of the hostages, and Eliahou Rouas Cohen, 19, right, light a candle at a makeshift memorial near a kosher grocery store where four hostages were killed in Paris, Jan. 10, 2015.Francois Mori—AP  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 10, 2015 7:00 PM CUT A Muslim employee of the Paris kosher grocery store attacked by a terrorist Friday is being hailed as a hero for saving multiple customers from the gunman. When Amedy Coulibaly opened fire in the Hyper Cacher grocery store, employee Lassana Bathily reportedly ushered several customers into a freezer to save them from the attack. “I went down to the freezer, I opened the door, there were several people who went in with me. I turned off the light and the freezer,” Bathily, 24, [told French network BFMTV](http://www.bfmtv.com/mediaplayer/video/prise-d-otage-de-la-porte-de-vincennes-l-employe-qui-s-est-echappe-temoigne-384653.html "undefined"), according to the [_Huffington Post_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/10/lassana-bathily%5Fn%5F6448500.html "undefined")‘s translation. “I brought them inside and I told them to stay calm here, I’m going to go out. When they got out, they thanked me.” Multiple people survived the attack, which French President Francois Hollande called “an anti-Semitic act,” by hiding inside the freezer. Some survivors were [reportedly](http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paris-terror-attacks-30-people-4951991 "undefined") able to call their friends and relatives from the freezer in order to tell them they were alive. It is not yet clear how many people Bathily saved, since many traumatized survivors have not yet come forward with their version of events. When police raided the store and killed Coulibaly, they originally thought Bathily was a co-conspirator, he says. “They told me, get down on the ground, hands over your head,” he told BFMTV. “They cuffed me and held me for an hour and a half as if I was with them.” Bathily was hailed as a hero on social media at a time of especially high tensions between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in France, in the wake of al-Qaeda-claimed terror attacks Wednesday against satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and Friday against the kosher grocery store. \[H/T [_Huffington Post_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/10/lassana-bathily%5Fn%5F6448500.html "undefined")\] ### Large Crowds Rally Against Terrorism in Paris After Attacks  Thousands of people gather at Place de la République in Paris, Jan. 11, 2015. Peter Dejong—AP  French President Francois Hollande is surrounded by head of states including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as they attend the solidarity march in the streets of Paris Jan. 11, 2015. Philippe Wojazer—Reuters  Demonstrators make their way along Boulevrd Voltaire in a unity rally in Paris following the recent terrorist attacks on Jan. 11, 2015 in Paris. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  A man holds a pencil, which has become a symbol for the cartoonists and editors killed at Charlie Hebdo, as he takes part in a solidarity march in the streets of Paris, Jan. 11, 2015. Eric Gaillard—Reuters  Families and relatives walk and hold banners reading 'Charlie' during a march to honor victims of the terrorist attacks and show unity, in Paris, Jan.11, 2015. Julien WarnandJ—EPA  Demonstrators make their way along Place de la République during a mass unity rally following the recent terrorist attacks on Jan. 11, 2015 in Paris. Dan Kitwood—Getty Images  A man holds a giant pencil, which has become a symbol for the cartoonists and editors killed at Charlie Hebdo, as as he takes part in the solidarity march in the streets of Paris, Jan. 11, 2015. Stephane Mahe—Reuters  People gather at the Place de la Nation in Paris, Jan. 11, 2015. Yoan Valat—EPA  A balloon reading "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) is held at Place de la Bastille during the solidarity march on Jan. 11, 2015 in Paris. Joel Saget—AFP/Getty Images  A general view shows hundreds of thousands of French citizens taking part in a solidarity march in the streets of Paris, Jan. 11, 2015. Eric Gaillard—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3662696/muslim-man-hero-kosher-grocery-store-attack-charlie-hebdo-france/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3662696/muslim-man-hero-kosher-grocery-store-attack-charlie-hebdo-france/"},"headline":"Muslim Man Hailed as Hero for Actions in Kosher Grocery Store Attack","datePublished":"2015-01-10T19:00:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:18.621Z","description":"Reportedly hid multiple survivors in freezer to hide them from gunman","url":"https://time.com/3662696/muslim-man-hero-kosher-grocery-store-attack-charlie-hebdo-france/","keywords":["France","Muslim","Jewish","terrorists","Charlie Hebdo","paris attacks"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd571a9a4eea79c9/6987794406f2c144f233352d/charlie-hebdo-terrorism-kosher-grocery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd571a9a4eea79c9/6987794406f2c144f233352d/charlie-hebdo-terrorism-kosher-grocery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paris Charlie Hebdo Kosher Grocery Terrorism","caption":"Paris Charlie Hebdo Kosher Grocery Terrorism","creditText":"Francois Mori—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3662696/muslim-man-hero-kosher-grocery-store-attack-charlie-hebdo-france/","name":"Muslim Man Hailed as Hero for Actions in Kosher Grocery Store Attack"}}]}] ```