FUN NIGHT ENDS IN TERROR
FOR YOUNG ARIANA GRANDE FANS, MANCHESTER SHOW A FUN NIGHT ENDING IN HORROR
The final lines of the American star’s provocative pop anthem, Dangerous Woman, still rang in Stacey Brown’s ears. It was her first Ariana Grande concert, a surprise for her 11th birthday.
She had travelled here on Monday from Aberdeen, in Scotland, with her parents. The concert, she said, had fulfilled her wildest dreams — “the songs, the background, the stage, the lights. It was all so good.”
The 23-year-old singer left the stage, and the lights came up. Concert-goers reached for their bags and coats, as others made an early start for the doors, including Stacey and her mother, Sharon Moir, 43. A bang was heard. “There was silence for like three seconds, then someone screamed,” recalled Mark Harrison, who had brought his 12-year-old daughter, Arin, to the concert from Cumbria, in northern Britain.
It was the beginning of a night of panic and carnage, as a bomb exploded in the entrance hall of the Manchester Arena, one of the world’s largest indoor venues, with a capacity of 21,000. Manchester is 260 kilometres northwest of London.
The bombing, in which the attacker himself was killed, was the deadliest terror strike in Britain since 2005.
Twenty-two concert-goers died, the youngest identified so far was eight-year-old Saffie Roussos. Of the 59 who were injured, 12 are under the age of 16. On Tuesday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility, though similar claims after past attacks have not been proven.
Eyewitness accounts, police statements photos and video footage paint a picture of a grisly scene of chaos and gore, in which the glee of music fans clutching pink balloons — many of them teenagers, some younger still — turned to horror.
A recording from inside the concert hall captures the moment the bomb detonated, leading to gasps, and, seconds later, screams. Disbelief and confusion reigned. “Oh my God,” a woman exclaimed. Audience members scanned the arena. Suddenly sensing danger, they darted from the aisles.
As they fled the scene, some parents assured their children that the noise had just been the popping of a balloon. Or an equipment malfunction. Or pyrotechnics.