Homeless men heroes for aiding blast victims
Chris Parker came to Manchester Arena as an anonymous beggar, positioning himself near the crowd of exiting Ariana Grande fans in hopes that he might pocket some spare change.
He left the arena distraught after having witnessed the kind of carnage typically seen in fields of combat.
Sometime in between, the 33-yearold homeless man became a hero, a symbol of hope in a stunned nation craving exactly that.
In turn, Parker and another homeless rescuer are being rewarded for their daring actions, though the devastation they encountered left them scarred.
Parker told the Press Association that life changed the moment he “heard a bang,” then “a white flash” followed by smoke and the sound of screaming.
“It knocked me to the floor and then I got up and instead of running away my gut instinct was to run back and try and help,” he said. "There was people lying on the floor everywhere.
“I saw a little girl … she had no legs,” he added. “I wrapped her in one of the merchandise T-shirts and I said, 'Where is your mom and daddy?'"
He's haunted by what he encountered, he said.
“There were nuts and bolts all over the floor,” Parker told the Press Association. “People had holes in their back.”
Police believe the violence was carried out by Salman Abedi, a young, Manchester-born suicide bomber. Authorities say 22 people — including an eight-year-old girl — were killed by the blast, and another 59 were injured, many gravely.
Parker wasn't the only homeless man who rushed to the aid of concertgoers, according to reports.
He was joined by Stephen Jones, who told ITV News that he initially thought the loud bang was a firework. But he noticed women and children stumbling out of the venue screaming, their bodies covered in blood.
“There was a lot of homeless people that stayed there and helped and that's what we done,” said Jones. “And obviously when we seen children like that with blood ... having to pull nails and stuff out of their arms, and I pulled one out of this little girl's face.”