CHILDREN, PARENTS, POLICE OFFICERS: VICTIM PROFILES
The names of the 22 victims killed by a bomber at a Manchester concert on Monday night have not been officially released, but here is what's known about them so far.
'MUCH-LOVED' RECEPTIONIST
Jane Tweddle-Taylor was a receptionist and well-loved member of the staff at the South Shore Academy in the northern English seaside town of Blackpool. The academy’s principal, Jane Bailey, said tributes had poured in from parents, students and colleagues describing Tweddle as “bubbly, kind, welcoming, funny, generous.” Tweddle-Taylor had reportedly gone to Manchester with a friend to pick up the friend’s daughter, who was attending the Ariana Grande concert.
SHIELDED NIECE
Thirty-two-year-old mother Kelly Brewster died after she reportedly “shielded” her niece from the blast. “Kelly really was the happiest she has ever been and we had so many things planned together. My daughter Phoebe will be absolutely devastated like we all are,” her partner, Ian Winslow, wrote on Facebook. Her local newspaper, the Sheffield Star, praised her for her bravery after confirming her death. Brewster had been attending the concert with her sister Claire and her niece Hollie Booth when the bomb went off. Hollie has two broken legs and Claire has a broken jaw, Hollie’s grandmother, Tracy Booth, wrote on Facebook.
‘BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL'
Saffie Roussos, eight, is the youngest victim identified so far. In a statement, the head teacher of the Tarleton Community Primary School in the village of Tarleton, Lancashire, described her as “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word.” Her death was “a tremendous shock to all of us,” said Chris Upton. The schoolgirl had been at the concert with her mother, Lisa Roussos, and sister, Ashlee Bromwich, in her 20s. They are both now in separate hospitals being treated for injuries, friends said.
OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER
An off-duty police officer was among those killed at the arena. Cheshire Police, the force she served with, confirmed her death on Wednesday but declined to provide further details. British media reported that she was with her husband and two children, and that all three others were injured — her husband critically — in the bombing.
‘LOVED LIFE'
A Manchester public relations company has paid tribute to Martyn Hett, its digital manager and a man who it said “loved life and celebrated it every day.” Hett, reported to be 29, had appeared on the reality TV shows Tattoo Fixers and Come Dine With Me. His employer, Rumpus, said on its website that Hett had packed life “to the brim with his passions.”
‘SING WITH ANGELS'
Tottington High School in the town of Bury said the school community was “absolutely devastated and heartbroken” at the news Wednesday that teenager Olivia Campbell-Hardy was killed in the blast. The school said Olivia, reportedly 15, went to the concert with a friend who has since undergone surgery. Her mother, Charlotte Campbell, wrote in a Facebook post early Wednesday: “RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far far too soon, go sing with the angels ... ”
'FAMILY WAS HER LIFE'
Michelle Kiss was a mother of three children, a loving wife, sister and daughter — and “family was her life,” her loved ones say. In a statement released to Manchester police, her family said: “She has been taken away from us and all that love her in the most traumatic way imaginable.” The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that Kiss attended Monday’s concert with her daughter. Her daughter was reported to be safe and was photographed being hugged by a police officer.
‘GIFTED STUDENT'
Georgina Callander, a student, was a mega fan of Ariana Grande, with a picture of the two circulating on social media as her name emerged as the first confirmed victim. Peter Rawlinson, deputy of the Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy in Croston, northwest of Manchester, where Callander was a former pupil, said she “was academically a very gifted student, very hard-working. Just lovely to speak to.”
SCHOOLGIRL WAS 14
Fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Sorrell Leczkowski, from Leeds, was at the concert with her mother and grandmother, both of whom are recovering in hospital. Sorrell’s grandmother, who had a 15-hour operation to remove shrapnel from her body, is in critical condition, and has been unconscious since the blast.
TEENAGER ‘ALWAYS SMILING'
Teenager Nell Jones, who went to a school in the village of Holmes Chapel, south of Manchester, was described by a teacher as “a very popular girl, always smiling, always positive.” Head teacher Denis Oliver said in a statement Wednesday that the school community was devastated by the news. Oliver also confirmed that another student, Freya Lewis, was badly injured in the attack. Freya’s father, Nick Lewis, was quoted as saying his daughter had undergone 10 1/2 hours of surgery and was in a stable condition.
PARENTS PICKING UP DAUGHTERS
A Polish couple who had gone to collect their daughters from the concert are among the dead, Poland’s foreign minister said Wednesday. Witold Waszczykowski said the daughters — one a minor, one adult — were unharmed. He did not give the couple’s names but the daughter of Marcin and Angelika Klis had been publicly searching for her parents since the explosion. A Facebook page “Remembering Marcin Klis” said he lived in the northern English city of York and worked for a taxi service. Marcin was 42 and Angelika was 40.
MOTHERS WERE WAITING TOGETHER
Alison Howe, 45, and Lisa Lees, 47, from Royton, Oldham, were waiting together in the foyer of the arena to collect their teenage daughters when the bomb exploded. “They took a caring beautiful mum and stepmother away from us all she was amazing to us all x love you loads Alison Howe xx,” Howe’s stepson, Jordan Howe, wrote on Facebook. Lees’ brother, Lee Hunter, confirmed her death around the same time.
‘A BEAUTIFUL SOUL'
Twenty-six-year-old pop fan John Atkinson, from Radcliffe, was reportedly leaving the venue when the explosion occurred. A message on Facebook from a local dance troupe with whom he danced competitively described him as a “happy gentle person.” Other online tributes called him an “amazing young man” and a “beautiful soul.”