Australian father and son separated in Paris attack at Bataclan
An Australian expat has recounted the moment he and his son fled the Bataclan concert hall in Paris following one of six horrific attacks across the city.
John Leader, 46, and his son, Oscar, 12, were temporarily separated when they ran from the hall and for their lives after gunmen opened fire.
Mr Leader told the UK Telegraph he tried to hide his son under a mixing desk when those inside the Bataclan realised that a series of loud bangs at The Eagles of Death Metal performance were not fireworks, rather gun shots.
"The lights suddenly went on," he said. "Everybody went quiet. It was clinical. All you heard was bang, bang, bang.
"The shooter was standing at the back of the hall and targeting people at the front. He was taking aim. He was not spraying. It was clinical. He was aiming: aim, fire, aim, fire, aim, fire.
"Everyone was thinking: if I move I'm dead."
Mr Leader said he went to make a move out of the concert hall after someone shouted in French that the attackers had gone, only, they had not.
"To my right I saw people running and saw that someone had opened an exit door. I grabbed Oscar and said,'let's go.' Then we saw a lake of blood and bodies lying everywhere.”
The pair hid again before both made it outside where they were separated. Mr Leader said he panicked, asking police if they had seen a small boy but they had not.
The environmental company employee then phoned the boy, who answered his mobile.
"I saw a crowd of people about 50m away, running. I thought he was with them. I screamed 'Oscar' and was expecting to see him turn around, but no,” he recalled.
"I went back to the exit and up the stairs. But by now there were bodies on the stairs, I think maybe of people who had been shot and had dragged themselves towards the exit. I couldn't see Oscar.
"Then I called Oscar on his mobile and he told me he was OK and was nearby. I ran to meet him. He'd lost his wallet and his shoes during our escape from the Bataclan," he continued.
Some 129 people were killed across the six attacks in Paris on Friday night, which ISIS has claimed. Eighty-nine people are believed to have died at the Bataclan.
