Terror attack at UK concert leaves 22 dead
MANCHESTER – A suicide bomber blew himself up as young concert-goers left a show by American singer Ariana Grande in the northern English city of Manchester, killing at least 22 people, some wearing the star’s trademark kitten ears and holding pink balloons as they fled.
Teenage screams filled the arena just after the explosion Monday night, which also killed the attacker and injured dozens. British Prime Minister Theresa May said Manchester had fallen victim to “a callous terrorist attack.”
“We struggle to comprehend the warped and twisted mind that sees a room packed with young children not as a scene to cherish but as an opportunity for carnage,” she said.
Greater Manchester Police announced Tuesday that they had arrested a 23-yearold man in the south of the city in connec- tion with the attack.
The attack sparked a nightlong search for loved ones – parents for the children they had accompanied or had been waiting to pick up, and friends for each other after groups were scattered by the blast. Twitter and Facebook were filled with appeals for the missing.
Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack at the Manchester Arena and said it was carried out with an explosive device planted at the concert, according to a statement the group posted on Telegram.
“One of the soldiers of the Caliphate was able to place an explosive device within a gathering of the Crusaders in the city of Manchester,” a Reuters report datelined Cairo quoted the statement.
The bombing took place at the end of the concert when the audience was streaming toward the exits. Witnesses said they saw bolts and other bits of metal, indicating the bomb may have contained shrapnel intended to maximize injuries.
Public transport shut down, and taxis offered to give stranded people free rides home, while residents opened their homes to provide lodging.
The concert was attended by thousands of young music fans in northern England. Grande, who was not injured, tweeted hours later: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”
May said authorities believe they have identified the attacker, but did not release the name. She said authorities were trying to determine if he had an accomplice.
Hayley Lunt was staying at a hotel nearby and had taken her 10-year-old daughter Abigail to her first concert at Manchester Arena on Monday evening.
She said the explosions rang out as soon as Grande left the stage. “It was almost like they waited for her to go.”
“We just ran as fast as we could to get away from that area,” Lunt said. “What should have been a superb evening is now just horrible.”
Campaigning for Britain’s June 8 election was suspended.
The explosion struck near the exit around 10:30 p.m. Monday as Grande was ending the concert, part of her Dangerous Woman Tour. Police cars, bomb-disposal units and 60 ambulances raced to the scene as the scale of the carnage became clear. More than 400 officers were deployed.
“A huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena,” said 22-yearold concertgoer Majid Khan. “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.”
Home Secretary Amber Rudd decried “a barbaric attack, deliberately targeting some of the most vulnerable in our society – young people and children out at a pop concert.”
The local ambulance service said 59 people were taken to hospitals.