"It was children, a lot of children with blood all over them, crying and screaming. If I didn't help, I wouldn't be able to live with myself..."
As authorities continue to piece together what happened during the deadly attack outside the Manchester Center, one man is being heralded as an everyday hero. Stephen Jones, a homeless man, sprung into action and helped wounded victims during the attack that killed 22 and wounded 59.
Jones rushed to help after the explosive was detonated during an Ariana Grande concert. He says that many homeless people sleep outside the venue. When the explosion happened, he cites his natural instinct to save people— especially children. "It was children, a lot of children with blood all over them, crying and screaming. If I didn't help, I wouldn't be able to live with myself for walking away and leaving kids like that," he tells CNN affiliate ITV. "We are human, we still have a heart, we still have that instinct to help people out that need help and that's what we are doing."
Jones describes the horrific scene following the blast. "We wiped blood from children's faces. I mean, one little girl, she was covered in blood. Her mom was screaming so some guy was coming at her, took the little girl's t-shirt off her, and it was someone else's blood shed on her." Jones and his friend even administered medical help until ambulences arrived, including elevating one woman's legs to quell bleeding.
The public is thanking Jones for being a Good Samaritan. A charity fundraising site, Just Giving, has raised nearly 23,000 Euros for him. According to the Daily Mail, the millionaire owner of the Manchester West Ham tracked down Jones via social media and offered the 35-year-old a home for six months (free of rent).