CONCERT TERROR
DOZENS HURT, POLICE SUSPECT TERROR INCIDENT AFTER EXPLOSION AT ARIANA GRANDE SHOW
At least 19 people were killed and 50 others injured Monday in what police in Manchester, England, are calling a terror attack that targeted a concert by U.S. pop star Ariana Grande. A witness said a “huge bomb-like bang” rocked Manchester Arena as the show ended, causing concertgoers to flee.
LONDON • An explosion struck a concert by U.S. pop star Ariana Grande in northern England late Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens in what police say they are treating as a terrorist attack.
Greater Manchester Police said 19 people were confirmed dead and roughly 50 were injured by the explosion at Manchester Arena. Emergency vehicles were helping the injured and bomb disposal units were later seen outside the venue.
There was mass panic after the explosion at the end of the concert, which was part of Grande’s The Dangerous Woman Tour. The singer was not injured, according to a representative.
Britain’s terrorist threat level has been set at “severe” in recent years indicating an attack is highly likely. Police said the explosion is being judged a terrorist attack unless new information proves otherwise.
“This is currently being treated as a terrorist incident until the police know otherwise,” the Manchester police said in a Twitter post.
The blast happened in the middle of an election campaign and came two months after a lone attacker left five people dead outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
Witnesses reported hearing two loud bangs coming from near the arena’s bars as the concert was ending at about 10:35 p.m. but there were few further details. “A huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena,” concertgoer Majid Khan, 22, told Britain’s Press Association. “It was one bang and essentially everyone from the other side of the arena where the bang was heard from suddenly came running towards us as they were trying to exit.”
Added Oliver Jones, 17: “The bang echoed around the foyer of the arena and people started to run.”
Video from inside the arena showed concertgoers screaming as they made their way out amid a sea of pink balloons.
“The concert had finished and we were all leaving and there was an explosion to our left and people started running,” actress Isabel Hodgins, who was at the show, told Sky News. “It smelled of burning and there was quite a lot of smoke as we were leaving.”
One concertgoer, Sasina Akhtar, told The Manchester Evening News that there had been an explosion at the back of the arena after the last song. “We saw young girls with blood on them,” she said.
“Everyone was screaming, and people were running.”
Police advised the public to avoid the area around the Manchester Arena, and the train station near the arena, Victoria Station, was evacuated and all trains cancelled.
Joseph Carozza, a representative from Grande’s U.S. record label, said the 23-year-old singer is all right, and they are investigating what happened.
“Ariana is OK,” said her publicist, Joseph Carozza. “We are further investigating what happened.”
Parents separated from their children during the mayhem were told to go to a Holiday Inn, where many children had taken refuge. Local residents offered stranded concertgoers places to stay in their homes, The New York Times reported.
Gary Walker, who was at the show with his wife and two daughters, said he “heard a massive bang and saw a flash” just as the concert finished. He turned and realized that his wife had been hurt. Walker, who is from the northern city of Leeds, said she had a stomach wound and possibly a broken leg. He said he lay down with her and saw “metal nuts on the floor.”
His wife was taken to a hospital, and Walker was standing with his daughters at Deansgate, the main shopping street in Manchester, the Times said.
The confusion and fear in the hours afterward was reflected on social media. One Twitter post asked: “Did anybody see my girlfriend? I lost her in the chaos.”
The Dangerous Woman Tour is Grande’s third concert tour, which was scheduled to continue through Europe and Latin America.