At Least 22 People Have Died In A Suspected Terror Attack At An Ariana Grande Concert
23 May 2017, 07:57 | Updated: 23 May 2017, 08:05
The blast happened in Manchester last night (22 May).
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we learned this morning that at least 22 people, including young children, have died in a suspected terrorist incident at an Ariana Grande concert last night (22 May) in Manchester, UK. A further 59 people are believed to also be injured. The attacker, a lone man, died in the blast, police confirmed.
Greater Manchester Police has established an emergency telephone number in response to the attack. It is: 0161 856 9400. If you are concerned about a loved one, this is the number you need to call.
Here is the statement from police constable Ian Hopkins about the incident last night.
This has been the most horrific incident we have had to face in Greater Manchester and one that we all hoped we would never see.
Families and many young people were out to enjoy a concert at the Manchester Arena and have lost their lives. Our thoughts are with those 22 victims that we now know have died, the 59 people who have been injured and their loved ones. We continue to do all we can to support them. They are being treated at eight hospitals across Greater Manchester.
This is a fast-moving investigation and we have significant resources deployed to both the investigation and the visible patrols that people will see across Greater Manchester as they wake up to news of the events last night. This will include armed officers as people would expect. More than 400 officers have been involved in the operation during the night.
To remind you, we were called at 10.33pm to reports of an explosion at the Manchester Arena at the conclusion of an Ariana Grande concert. More than 250 calls came in and emergency services were very quickly on scene. Emergency numbers have been established for anyone who is concerned for loved ones who may not have returned home: 0161 856 9400 or 0161 856 9900.
We have been treating this as a terrorist incident and we believe that while the attack last night was conducted by one man. The priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network.
The attacker, I can confirm, died at the arena. We believe the attacker was carrying an improvised explosive device, which he detonated, causing this atrocity.
We would ask people not to speculate on his details or to share names. There is a complex and wide-ranging investigation under way.
Our priority is to work with the national counter-terrorist policing network and UK intelligence services to establish more details about the individual who carried out this attack.
Ariana Grande, who was not hurt in the blast, responded this morning to the attacks late last night with this tweet:
from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 23, 2017
The thoughts and prayers of the PopBuzz team are with Ariana, all her fans and their families, as well as the people of Manchester at this deeply distressing time. It is unfathomable that something so awful could happen at a pop concert where so many young fans are there to simply enjoy some music.