SWAGGER OF THE ARENA BOMBER
Mum tells how killer ‘seemed to be different’ before detonating device
SUICIDE bomber Salman Abedi walked with a swagger and purpose seconds before detonating his device at the Manchester Arena, a public inquiry heard.
A mum collecting her daughter from the Ariana Grande gig noticed Abedi carrying a large rucksack moments before he murdered 22 people and injured hundreds more.
College lecturer Suzanne Atkins told the inquiry: “He was stooped and had a bit of a swagger about him. He looked out of place.
“He just seemed to be different and have a purpose.
“I think the bang came first, I could only see orange in my field of sight so it felt like a flash. It felt like something had rolled into me but was burning into my legs.”
After a frantic search, she contacted her daughter by phone and they were later reunited.
Pals Millie Tomlinson and Lucy Jarvis, who were both 17, linked arms and walked from the concert to the City Room in May 2017.
Millie, of Wigan, was about to call her mum when “all of a sudden I felt like this gush of air hit me and I felt really warm, like when you jump in a pool.
“I felt my body getting thrown around. I remember going into a ball. I had my eyes closed.
“I opened my eyes, I could see loads of smoke and loads of people on the ground, the victims.
“I could see Lucy and me had been blown apart.” She and Lucy managed to get up but Millie felt she could not run but did not know why. She said: “A bolt had gone through my shoe and foot. Lucy was quite severely injured.”
Lucy, who suffered multiple shrapnel wounds to her legs, said: “I could see holes in my jeans. I was touching them to see what had happened. I was saying to Millie, ‘Am I going to die?’
“It was really weird that I didn’t feel any pain at that point.
“The next thing I remember was being on the concourse floor with two men from the Arena. I didn’t see Millie again.”
Lucy spent eight weeks in Salford Royal Hospital and underwent 14 hours of surgery.
The inquiry continues.