The terrorists who carried out the massacre at the Bataclan theatre walked in “casually” before spraying the crowd with bullets just seconds later, a witness told today.
Cedric Rey, 27, said the gunmen walked in together and kicked the front door open before shots rang out.
One appeared to be shooting at people leaving through the main entrance, making sure they did not make it out alive, he added.
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Mr Rey said he was having coffee with two friends on the terrace outside the concert venue when the killing began.
He claimed he saw “four guys walk in” — rather than three as has been reported since the attacks — before hearing gunshots and screams.
“I ran into the middle of the road to move away from the gunfire,” he said. “We then started to see people escape the venue with injuries.
“There was a pregnant girl who was stumbling outside the door. She was already shot but as she made her escape she was shot again and just fell down. She was dead.
“People were escaping by the front door and just falling. I’m pretty sure there was a terrorist standing watching the front door and shooting as people escaped. These people had got out but they wouldn’t let them go. They wanted to finish what they had started.”
Since the Paris attacks on Friday, which left 129 dead and more than 300 injured, Mr Rey has been visiting the Bataclan site every night, staying until 5am to remember those who died.
The emergency medical technician said he felt overwhelming guilt that he survived. He added: “I’ve seen a lot of horrible things but I’ve never seen something like this. People will never understand what happened here. It was a hell on Earth.”
British couple Tony Scott and fiancée Justine Merton, of Leeds, had arrived at the venue late and so opted to watch from the balcony — a decision that may have saved their lives. They hid behind their seats as the firing started then fled by crawling away on their stomachs into a stairwell and out via a skylight.
Mr Scott said: “We still didn’t know if we were safe. Going through your head is, ‘If that was our way out, what happens if the gunmen get cornered — is that their way out too?’”
The family of the only Briton to have been killed in the atrocity, Nick Alexander, today said his death — which they learned of through social media — had left a huge void in their lives.
He was working as the merchandise manager for the rock band Eagles of Death Metal, who were performing when the attack took place. His sister Zoe Alexander, from Weeley, Essex, said: “Mum had spoken to him the day before as he was on the ferry to Paris and we knew he was in the venue when we saw it reported on the news.
“We found out a lot quicker through the internet than through official channels. It was a very difficult time.”
She added: “Nick was the epitome of tolerance. We will miss him for ever.”
Also killed at the concert were French couple Anne and Pierre-Yves Guyomard. Sound engineer Mr Guyomard, 43, and his 29-year-old wife, a nursery worker, were huge rock music fans. She had earlier told of her joy at going to the concert in a post on Facebook.
Simon Phillips, 28, a dual French and British citizen, said he played dead with his girlfriend as two men opened fire on the La Belle Equipe bar, killing 19.
He described being caught up in “scenes of war”, saying: “Endless bullets were sprayed by the gunmen. It was complete and utter chaos.
“My girlfriend and I had to act dead so as not to be shot. The injuries some people there sustained were horrific.
“There was a lady next to me who had clearly been shot. I was covered in her blood. I had to check to see if I had been shot as I had so much blood over me but it was from the woman. When you’re that close to death, you think, ‘This is it, this is how I’ll die’.”
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