*We will update this post through the night* (UPDATES BELOW)
An explosion occurred at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Police confirmed 19 dead and 50 injured, but have not confirmed exactly what caused the explosion or who caused it.
Police have told Sky News that they decided to treat the incident as a “possible terrorist incident” until the officials know otherwise.
From CNN:
A Western law enforcement official has told CNN that a male at the scene in Manchester has been identified as the probable suicide bomber.A US official said a suicide bombing is now considered to be the “likely” reason for the blast.
From Sky News:
Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent, says: “Information coming from local hospitals in the Manchester area, say they are treating a number of people with what are believed to be shrapnel-type injuries.”
The incident happened outside of the arena:
Manchester Arena holds 21,000 people. Sky News reported that the arena was full.
Bomb disposal teams have arrived at the arena. Grande is popular with younger kids, which means the audience had plenty of children in the audience. The explosion caused many parents to become separated from their kids. The Holiday Inn at Manchester has taken most in:
Witnesses to the incident and outside afterwards have spoken to the media about what happened. From the BBC:
Andy Holey, who had gone to the arena to pick up his wife and daughter who had been at the concert, said: “As I was waiting, an explosion went off and it threw me about 30 feet from one set of doors to the other set of doors.”When I got up I saw bodies lying on the ground. My first thought was to go into the Arena to try to find my family.”When I couldn’t find them, I went outside with the police and fire and looked through some of the bodies to try and find my wife and daughter.”I managed to find them eventually and they’re OK.”It was definitely an explosion and it was some force. It happened near the box office at the entrance to the Arena.”
The BBC’s Tim Ashburn arrived on the scene and told the network that volunteer paramedics told him they treated people with “shrapnel-like injuries.”
ISIS CELEBRATES:
The UK Daily Mail is reporting that ISIS supporters celebrated online overnight following the blast, and one of its adherents posted what may have been a potential warning that an attack was being planned at the Manchester Arena a few hours before the bombing.
#RoomForManchester
The British locals responded to the tragedy by opening up rooms and other forms of support for concert goers and others impacted by the tragedy.
Following the incident, which left at least 19 people dead and dozens more injured, the hashtag #roomforManchester started trending.Minutes after news broke of the Manchester Arena terror attack, following Ariana Grande’s concert, there was an outpouring of love and support.The moving offers included rooms to anyone who was stuck in the city, lifts out of the city centre, hot drinks or even a simple hug in the aftermath.
Ariana Grande is “Broken”
The American pop star whose show was ending when the bomb detonated is “broken.”
“Broken,” the 23-year-old wrote in her first reaction on Twitter.“From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don’t have words,” she added. The tweet came about five hours after the explosion at the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena.
Many music industry icons are tweeting their support, shocked by the nightmarish conclusion to an evening of dance and song.
She has indefinitely suspended her world tour.
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