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A security guard had a “bad feeling” when he saw Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi, but did not approach him for fear of being branded a racist, a public inquiry has heard.
Kyle Lawler said he was standing 10 to 15 feet away from Abedi, who had been reported to security by a member of the public who thought he looked “doubtful.”
The Showsec security guard, who was 18 at the time of the terrorist attack, told police in a statement read at the Manchester investigation: “I didn’t feel sure what to do.
“It is very difficult to define a terrorist. From what he knew, he might as well be an innocent Asian man. I didn’t want people to think that I’m stereotyping him because of his race.
“I was afraid of making a mistake and being called a racist if I was wrong and got into trouble. It made me hesitate.
“I wanted to do it right and not spoil it by overreacting or judging someone on their race.”
Abedi, 22, dressed completely in black and with a large and bulky backpack, was seen and reported to security at 10:15 p.m. on May 22, 2017.
The Manchester-born terrorist, whose parents were Libyan, was sitting on the steps near the back of the stadium lobby, known as the City Room, waiting for the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
About eight minutes before detonating his device, Showsec’s butler, Mohammed Ali Agha, alerted Lawler to the report from a member of the public and the two began observing Abedi.
Lawler said: “At the time it was just an Asian man sitting among a group of white people.
“When Ali turned to take a look, he realized we were looking at him. He gets nervous with his hands. No sudden movements. He was looking at us, looking at him.
“He looked, looked slightly away and looked at us.”
In his statement to police, Lawler said: “I had a bad feeling about him, but I had nothing to justify it.”
He said Abedi was “restless and sweating” and said he panicked a bit and was “in conflict” because he thought something was wrong but couldn’t point it out, according to the investigation.
Lawler said he tried to use his radio to alert the security control room, but claimed he was unable to communicate due to radio traffic.
He then left the area and took his position on a pedestrian bridge outside the City Hall and made no further attempts to raise the alarm.
Lawler agreed that he simply “gave up” trying to use the radio and went on with his work.
About five minutes later, Abedi stood up and crossed the room into the crowd that was leaving the arena at the end of the concert at 10:31 p.m.
He was grinning, the investigation was heard, seconds before he detonated his homemade knapsack bomb, filled with thousands of nuts and bolts, killing 22 bystanders and injuring hundreds more.
Lawler agreed that, on five separate occasions after the bombing, he made statements, verbally or in writing, in which he “deliberately shortened” the time between his departure from the City Room and the explosion of the bomb, “so that no one would say why didn’t he. ” You do something? The query was counted.
He said: “I don’t remember minutes or seconds. I had a feeling of guilt, I had a lot of guilt about myself. “
The public inquiry is looking into the background circumstances before and during the bombing and is expected to last until next spring.
