On Monday night in Manchester, England an explosion that appeared to be due to a suicide bombing killed at least 22 people and injured 59 others following an Ariana Grande concert. Now, authorities are treating this incident as a terrorist attack.
Terror took control of the crowd at the Manchester Arena as the bomb shook throughout the building, just as the final song played and pink balloons dropped from the rafters towards the end of the 23-year-old American pop star’s concert.
Children became separated from their parents as screams seized concertgoers and what appears to be the deadliest episode of terrorism in over a decade following the 2005 London transit bombings.
Manchester’s chief constable, Ian Hopkins, revealed that the explosion took place around 10:33 p.m. Children were among those killed, and the wounded were taken to several different hospitals.
this is the most heartbreaking thing I have ever seen ? thoughts and prayers with all involved ❤️ #Manchester pic.twitter.com/7X7I8pTpt4
— a (@aoibhincarlin_) May 23, 2017
Hopkins explained that a man detonated “an improvised explosive device” and he had also been killed in the blast. He said the man had acted alone but, they were trying to determine whether he had been connected to a wider link of terrorists. Other officials pointed out that police are investigating reports the bomb had nuts and bolts, which were to be used as shrapnel to injure further and kill concertgoers.
The bombing in Manchester draws a connection to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, which included a deadly shooting inside the Bataclan concert hall, where the Eagles of Death Metal had been playing. But unlike the Bataclan concert, the Manchester show was filled with children.
Prime Minister Theresa May said that this “is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack.”