Paris attacks: Man hailed as hero for shielding woman from bullets at caf

A French man from Lille is being hailed as a hero for throwing himself in front of a woman when the shooting started at La Belle quipe restaurant in Paris on Friday.

The shooting was one of several co-ordinated attacks that killed 129 people and injured hundreds more, many seriously.

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Ludovic Boumbas, 40, was at the restaurantwith several friends, including two Tunisian women, sisters Houda, 35, and Halima Saadi, 36, when the shooting began. Halima, a mother of two, was killed at the scene, while Houdadied later in hospital. Their brotherKhaled, a server at the caf, was also present during the shooting.

An unnamed friend of Boumbas', speaking to LeParisien, said Boumbasthrew himself in front of a woman at the restaurant to shield her from the gunfire.He was killed in the attack. The woman he saved is alive but in critical condition.

Boumbas was reported to be a FedEx senior systems solutions architect who was at the cafe to celebrate Houda's 35th birthday. The friend said that he loved travelling, dancing and sports.

"He was just one of life's good, good people. He didn't stand a chance," said the friend.

French prosecutor Franois Molins said Friday that 18 people died at the caf.