Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Terrorism eyed in blast that killed 19 at concert
Dozens injured at Ariana Grande show in UK; the singer, a former Boca resident, was not hurt
An explosion struck an Ariana Grande concert 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.
Witnesses reported hearing two loud
bangs coming from near the arena’s bars 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.
Joseph Carozza, a representative from Grande’s US record label, said the singer is OK and they are investigating what happened.
Grande, a former Boca Raton resident, attended North Broward Preparatory School in Coconut Creek.
“There’s no comment tonight, thank you very much,” Grande’s father, Edward Butera, said when reached by telephone Monday night.
Text messages about the explosion filled the phone of Janet Erlick, executive artist director at Florida Children’s Theatre. Grande’s resume at the Fort Lauderdale company includes just one production, but nearly a decade later she remains an important role model for former students, who wanted to make sure Erlick had the news.
Erlick said Grande has stayed in touch with staff and students of the company, which was called Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre in 2008 when the singer had the title role in FLCT’s “Cinderella.” Later that year Grande appeared on Broadway in “13.”
As her television career took off with roles on Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” and “Sam and Cat,” Grande would return to speak to students and young summer campers, Erlick said. Many former students are part of the singer’s private Facebook group, Erlick said, and Grande has routinely invited students backstage at South Florida performances.
“It’s not only her voice and talent,” Erlick said. “She’s such a consummate professional. She works so hard, and she is continually raising the bar, on herself, especially. Her work with young people is a rare and amazing thing to have mastered at her age. That’s the key to her success, whether it is theater, television or her singing.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the government is working to establish “the full details of what is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack.”
She said her thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected. The government is expected to call an emergency Cabinet meeting.
If the incident is confirmed as a terrorist attack it would be the most deadly in Britain since the London subway bombings in 2005.
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 canceled.
The Dangerous Woman Tour is the third concert tour by Grande to support her third studio album, Dangerous Woman. The tour began on February 3 in Phoenix, Arizona at the Talking Stick Resort Arena and included a stop in Miami on April 14.