Suicide bomber was blocked from entering Stade de France
At least one of the terrorists outside France’s national soccer stadium had a ticket and tried to enter the packed venue before he was detected and he blew himself up.
The Wall Street Journal said the account came from a security guard at the stadium, where President Francois Hollande was among some 80,000 people watching a Fra nce-Germany match.
The guard, who asked to be identified only by his first name Zouheir, said the attacker was discovered wearing an explosives vest when he was frisked at the entrance to the stadium about 15 minutes into the game.
While attempting to back away from security, Zouheir said, the attacker detonated the vest, which was loaded with explosives and bolts, according to Paris prosecutor François Molins.
Zouheir, stationed by the players’ tunnel, said he was briefed on the sequence by the security frisking team at the gate, the Wall Street Journal said.
A police officer confirmed the sequence, adding that police suspect the attacker aimed to detonate his vest inside the stadium in order to provoke a deadly stampede, the daily said. Around three minutes later, a second person also blew himself up outside the stadium.
President Hollande was immediately whisked away from the stadium by security personnel. The president later declared a state of emergency, and ordered curfew in Paris for the first time since World War II.
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