Photo: Still
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that the death toll has risen to 22 following a suicide bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena last night (May 22). 59 other people have been injured. The explosion happened in the foyer after the concert while fans were leaving the venue.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “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 this operation during the night.”
He continued: “We have been treating this as a terrorist incident and we believe, at this stage, 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 underway.”
Greater Manchester Police have also appealed for any images or footage that can assist them with their inquiries. Files can be uploaded at Ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk or Ukpoliceimageappeal.com
