A security guard working the night of the Manchester Arena attack had "a bad feeling" about the bomber but said nothing over fears of being labelled a racist.
In 2017 Kyle Lawler, 18, was working security for an Ariana Grande concert. He told an inquiry on Wednesday that he noticed Salam Abedi and something didn't seem right - the man was nervous and fidgeting, dressed in black and carrying a large backpack. Despite this, Lawler did not raise the alarm, reports the BBC.
Minutes later Abedi detonated a homemade bomb loaded with shrapnel, killing 23 people - 10 of whom were under 20. The youngest victim was just eight years old. More than 800 others were injured in the attack.
Lawler says despite his suspicions he didn't try hard to alert anyone because he didn't want anyone to think he was stereotyping based on race.
He says he attempted to call the security control room but couldn't get through due to radio traffic. He "simply gave up" trying to call, then left the arena to his post outside and made no further attempt to raise the alarm, the BBC reports.
"I was scared of being wrong and being branded a racist if I got it wrong and would have got into trouble. It made me hesitant," Lawler said.
In a prepared statement to the inquiry, the Showsec security guard also said he felt unsure.
"It's very difficult to define a terrorist. For all I knew he might well be an innocent Asian male...I wanted to get it right."
The public inquiry continues.
