Hollywood Hills man describes explosions at Stade de France
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Hollywood Hills man who was inside the Stade de France on the night of the attacks described what it was like when the bombs went off.
At the time, Johnny Beig had no way of knowing it was just the start of a night of terror.
"I think 35th minute into the game I hear a big explosion. It was really scary because initially I thought maybe it was a tire burst or something but the effect was so heavy that I was like, hey, this cannot be a tire burst or a firecracker or something. It's got to be something bigger than that. But the game continued, no one really reacted. And then five minutes later there was another explosion," Beig described.
Like most everyone in the stadium, Beig didn't know it was anything serious. But at halftime, he went out to get some fresh air.
"I see dead bodies being carried away in stretchers. People coming into the stadium injured," Beig recalled.
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Still, the game went on. Someone told him there had been a fight and that was all. Then, late in the game, more blasts.
"I think we heard another explosion, third explosion," Beig said.
That's when he decided to leave.
"We were about a group of a thousand people walking at the same time, and they started chanting the French national anthem," Beig said.
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He made it back to his hotel and learned the full extent of the horror. The city was on lockdown. He feared he would not be able to get home to the U.S.
But he did make it home - badly shaken and heartbroken for the people of Paris and with one hope for all.
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"We should spread love and make sure that everybody loves and respects each other, spreads harmony rather than hatred," he said.
Not only was he at the stadium, Beig had also been at one of the restaurants that came under attack just the night before.
Three teams of attackers including seven suicide bombers attacked the national stadium, the Bataclan music hall and nearby nightspots on Friday. In addition to those killed, the attacks wounded 350 people, 99 of them seriously.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
