"Hero" in Manchester terror attack admits he stole from victims
LONDON -- A homeless man characterized as a hero after the Manchester Arena bombing has admitted stealing from victims of last year's extremist attack. Closed-circuit TV footage played in court showed 33-year-old Chris Parker stealing a purse and mobile phone from victims of the May attack that killed 22 people.
He pleaded guilty Wednesday at Manchester Crown Court to theft and fraud. Judge David Hernandez ordered Parker held in custody until a Jan. 30 sentencing date. He said a prison term is "most likely."
Parker received global attention after he claimed to have helped comfort a number of injured and dying victims after suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
In an interview with the Press Association on the day after the bombing, Parker said the blast "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 was widely hailed as a hero in the media and more than 50,000 GBP was raised for him on a crowd funding platform, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Prosecutors said Parker provided "limited assistance" to victims but also robbed some.