--- description: Being forced to detonate his bomb sooner likely saved dozens of lives title: Paris Suicide Bomber Tried to Enter Stadium Before Attacks But Was Turned Away image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt045a673070363a9b/6988711c3c163936ff45ab75/gettyimages-497085980.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Paris Suicide Bomber Reportedly Tried to Enter Stadium Before Attacks But Was Turned Away  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 15, 2015 12:01 AM CUT  The press gathers outside the Stade de France stadium, on the outskirts of Paris, on November 14, 2015\. ( MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP--Getty Images) The press gathers outside the Stade de France stadium, on the outskirts of Paris, on November 14, 2015\. ( MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP--Getty Images)MIGUEL MEDINA—AFP/Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 15, 2015 12:01 AM CUT At least one of the attackers who [detonated explosives outside the Stade de France](http://time.com/4113248/paris-terror-investigations-isis-belgium-greece/ "undefined") on Friday night [reportedly attempted to enter stadium to detonate inside](http://www.wsj.com/articles/attacker-tried-to-enter-paris-stadium-but-was-turned-away-1447520571 "undefined") the arena filled with thousands of people—but he was turned away. The _Wall Street Journal_, citing an unnamed security guard, reports that one of the attackers had a ticket for the soccer game between France and Germany and attempted to enter the 80,000-seat stadium 15 minutes into the game, but he was frisked and refused entrance. He reportedly then detonated the suicide vest as he was walking away from the security checkpoint. Being turned away likely saved dozens of lives and possibly prevented a much more chaotic situation inside the stadium. A police official confirmed the story to the _Journal_. Three suicide bombs were detonated outside the Stade de France on the night of attacks, which in total saw at least 129 people killed at about half-a-dozen locations around the city. ISIS has taken credit. \[[_WSJ_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/attacker-tried-to-enter-paris-stadium-but-was-turned-away-1447520571 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4113380/paris-attacks-suicide-bomber-stade-de-france/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4113380/paris-attacks-suicide-bomber-stade-de-france/"},"headline":"Paris Suicide Bomber Reportedly Tried to Enter Stadium Before Attacks But Was Turned Away","datePublished":"2015-11-15T00:01:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:37:56.958Z","description":"Being forced to detonate his bomb sooner likely saved dozens of lives","url":"https://time.com/4113380/paris-attacks-suicide-bomber-stade-de-france/","keywords":["France","Terrorism","Know Right Now","Paris attack","paris attacks"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt045a673070363a9b/6988711c3c163936ff45ab75/gettyimages-497085980.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt045a673070363a9b/6988711c3c163936ff45ab75/gettyimages-497085980.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FRANCE-ATTACKS-PARIS","caption":"FRANCE-ATTACKS-PARIS","creditText":"MIGUEL MEDINA—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4113380/paris-attacks-suicide-bomber-stade-de-france/","name":"Paris Suicide Bomber Reportedly Tried to Enter Stadium Before Attacks But Was Turned Away"}}]}] ```