Paris attacker was blocked from entering soccer stadium: report
At least one attacker outside France’s national soccer pitch had a ticket to the match and tried to enter the 80,000-person stadium Friday, a Stade de France security guard who was on duty at the time told the Wall Street Journal.
The guard, who asked to be identified by only his first name, Zouheir, said the attacker was wearing an explosive vest and was caught when he was frisked at the entrance to the stadium.
{mosads}Zouheir said the attacker detonated his vest while attempting to back away from security.
A French police officer confirmed the story to the Wall Street Journal, adding that police suspect the attacker wanted to detonate the explosive inside the arena in order to start a deadly stampede.
Three minutes after the initial attacker detonated his vest, a second person blew himself up outside of the stadium, according to the Journal.
A third suicide bomber detonated explosives at a nearby McDonald’s, police said. The suicide attacks at the Stade de France killed one civilian.
More than 120 people were killed in a series of attacks at the stadium, the Bataclan concert hall and restaurants across Paris on Friday.
The blasts occurred during the first half of the game between France and Germany, and at least two could be heard clearly throughout the stadium.
Zouheir said he thought the early blast was a firecracker, which fans sometimes set off at European soccer matches. Then his walkie-talkie alerted him that French President Francois Hollande, who was watching the match from a VIP box, was being rushed out of the stadium.
“Once I saw Hollande being evacuated, I knew it wasn’t firecrackers,” Zouheir told the Journal.
The soccer game continued for the regulation 90 minutes. French soccer federation head Noel le Graet said the information wasn’t communicated to fans or players in order to avoid starting a panic.
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