Find bomber’s blue suitcase
Detectives hunt for case used by Manchester killer hours before attack – and warn public not to touch it
POLICE were last night searching for a large blue suitcase amid fears Manchester bomber Salman Abedi had a second device.
CCTV footage released yesterday showed the killer pushing the wheeled case hours before the attack on concert-goers at the city’s arena.
Detectives urged anyone who spots the item to call 999 immediately as it may contain hazardous substances or critical evidence. In the footage, Abedi wears what appeared to be the same baseball cap and trainers he wore as he carried out his act of mass murder eight days ago, although he had a lighter pair of jeans and what may be a different jacket.
Police also cordoned off and began searching a rubbish tip in Pilsworth, Bury, yesterday while armed officers made a further arrest, leading a man from a bus in Rusholme, Manchester.
Searches were carried out at a further address in the district believed to be rented by four students.
The number of arrests in connection with the Islamic State-linked terror plot has now risen to 16. Last night, 14 of those detained remained in custody while two have been released without charge.
Meanwhile, families of the 22 bomb blast victims were taken privately to the scene
‘Urge people to be cautious’
of the atrocity last night in what Greater Manchester Police described as ‘an essential part of the grieving process’.
The pictures of Abedi with the case were taken both in the city centre and on Wilmslow Road some miles to the south.
Police said the item was not taken by the bomber to the arena and officers are appealing for information about its whereabouts – with the public warned not to approach it.
Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said: ‘We know he visited the Wilmslow Road area of Manchester and was also seen in Manchester city centre with the blue suitcase.
‘Did you see Abedi with this suitcase between the 18 and 22 May 2017? Where did you see him with it during that time? If you have any details about the suitcase we need you to get in touch and let us know.’
Mr Jackson said it is believed Abedi, who used a £22 Karrimor rucksack to take his bomb to the arena, was in possession of the case in the days before the attack. He added: ‘We have no reason to believe the case and its contents contain anything dangerous, but would ask people to be cautious.
‘Anybody with information about the whereabouts of the case between 18 and 22 May should call the anti-terrorist hotline. The public should not approach the case if they see it but contact police immediately.’
Police urged anyone with images or footage that could help in the investigation to upload them to UKpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.
Earlier, separate CCTV footage emerged of Abedi casually shopping for groceries just hours before heading to the Manchester Arena where he detonated his bomb, killing 22 people – including seven children – at an Ariana Grande concert.
The 22-year-old looked relaxed as he browsed the shelves in a convenience store close to a central Manchester flat he used as a safe house. The short clip shows him wandering around the branch of Spar, where staff recognised him from several previous visits.
His receipt showed he ran up a £8.74 bill purchasing almonds, tuna, cleaning products and two aerosol air fresheners.
The footage, obtained by the BBC and passed to counter-terrorist detectives, captures Abedi on the Sunday morning before the concert attack.
He is wearing the same distinctive bulky, black and white £300 trainers he wore in his final hours and a similar black jacket.
His face largely covered by a heavy hood, his glasses can be briefly seen when he turns side on to one camera. Shop manager Michael Jones said: ‘Looking at the CCTV it is the same guy who has been in the shop several times in the past. He looks exactly like the guy they are saying has done the bombings.’
Other known movements of the bomber, who was staying in a rented flat on Granby Street, near Piccadilly Station, include a shopping trip around the city centre on the Friday before the attack. CCTV footage showed him entering a Tesco where he is understood to have picked up fruit.
It came after he went to a branch of discount retailer Sports Direct to buy the rucksack in which he would detonate his bomb.