Arena hero charged with stealing from woman injured in attack
HOMELESS MAN HAD £50K RAISED FOR HIM FOR HELPING AFTER BOMBING
A HOMELESS man who was hailed a hero after the Manchester Arena attack has been charged with stealing bank cards from a woman injured in the atrocity.
More than £50,000 was raised through a Gofundme campaign to help Chris Parker, 33, in the wake of the bombing in which 22 people died.
But he has now been charged with two counts of theft.
Seconds after the explosion, Mr Parker ran into the Arena to help the injured. Mr Parker gained worldwide attention for his actions in the wake of the terror attack.
He said he was knocked to the floor when a suicide bomber detonated a device in the venue’s foyer, but immediately got back up and began trying to help the dozens of injured.
Police now say that Mr Parker, of no fixed address, has been charged in connection with the theft of a bank card from an injured woman, who was one of those hurt in the May 22 attack.
He has been remanded in custody to appear at Manchester magistrates court on Wednesday.
Speaking to the M.E.N. a fortnight after the attack, Mr Parker said: “I’m supposed to be a hero but I’m not a hero, just a normal guy, a normal regular guy. I ran into that Arena that night because I heard kids screaming. I had no choice.”
Referring to the moment he tended to a person injured in the blast, Mr Parker said: “She was in her 60s and said she had been with her family. I haven’t stopped crying.
“The most shocking part of it is that it was a kids’ concert. There were nuts and bolts all over the floor.
“I don’t think anything has sunk in yet. It’s just shock.”
As a result of his fame and exposure in the media he was reunited with his mother who he had not seen for five years and after talks with council officers was found a home.
The attack at the Arena injured 250 people, and many were left with life-changing injuries after murderer Salman Abedi detonated a nail bomb just after 10.30pm on Monday, May 22, at the end of the Ariana Grande concert.