A Malian man who saved several hostages during the attack on a kosher market in Paris by hiding them in a refrigerator will be given French citizenship.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Thursday that Lassana Bathily will be given naturalized French status, and the government will honor him during a ceremony on Jan. 20.
Bathily, a 24-year-old Malian citizen who is also Muslim, was working in the Hyper Cacher kosher market in the Vincennes neighborhood of Paris when a gunman entered the building on Jan. 9, killing four.
He ushered customers into a refrigerator in the basement of the store as a gunman stormed the market.
Bernard Cazenuve annonce la naturalisation de Lassana Bathily, le héros de l'Hyper Cacher (communiqué) pic.twitter.com/NXwFwq3fC5— Pierre de Cossette (@Pdecossette) January 15, 2015
In an interview with French broadcaster BFMTV, Bathily recounted his quick-thinking actions that may have saved lives.
When the attack on the store began, several people sought refuge in the basement of the store. He led them into a refrigerator and turned off the machine.
"When they ran down, I opened the door [of the refrigerator]. There were several people who had turned to me. I turned off the light, I turned off the freezer.... I closed the door, I told them stay calm, I'm going out," said Bathily, who BFMTV described as humble when retelling the story.
He escaped the store and, once safe, gave the police information about what was going on inside the building. All of the people in the refrigerator were rescued, according to French media.
Pour son acte de bravoure à l'#HyperCacher, Lassana #Bathily recevra la nationalité française mardi pic.twitter.com/sJlXPO58RA— Gouvernement (@gouvernementFR) January 15, 2015
The attack, described by French President Francois Hollande as anti-Semitic, left four hostages and the attacker Amedy Coulibaly dead after an hours-long standoff with police.
Coulibaly also shot and killed a policewoman in Paris on Jan. 8. The attacks have been linked to a deadly attack carried out by two brothers on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead.