*Hours after an explosion left at least 22 dead and more than 50 injured outside her Manchester Arena concert, Ariana Grande took to Twitter to write that she was “broken” by the incident.
“From the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry,” she continued. “I don’t have words.”
broken.
from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 23, 2017
An explosion took place in the foyer of the U.K. concert venue at around 10:35 p.m. local time Monday night (May 22) as people were leaving Grande’s show. Her rep assured Billboard the pop star was “okay” following the blast, but Greater Manchester Police quickly confirmed that there were fatalities and injuries at the scene. Among the injured are 12 children under the age of 16.
In an early Tuesday morning press conference, police said the explosion is being treated as a likely “terrorist incident.” Police have arrested a 23-year-old man in Chorlton, south Manchester, in connection with the attack.
ISIS has said it was behind the attack, via Islamic State channels on the messaging app Telegram.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May has condemned the “callous terror attack, which targeted some of the youngest people in our society with cold calculation.”
“All acts of terrorism are cowardly attacks on innocent people but this attacks stands out for its appalling sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenseless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives,” the Prime Minister stated.
One of the fatalities, Saffie Rose Roussos, was a student at Tarleton Primary School, in Lancashire. Her head teacher, Chris Upton, said she had been “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word” and was “loved by everyone.”
Student Georgina Callander, believed to have been 18, has also been named among the dead. She had been studying health and social care at Runshaw College in Leyland, Lancashire.
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