22 Dead, 59 Injured Following Explosion at Ariana Grande Concert Manchester; Salman Abedi, 23 id'ed

[The Bobster]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...nt-Reports-at-Manchester-Arena-423715894.html

19 Dead Following Explosion at Ariana Grande Concert at Manchester Arena: Sources
Authorities suspect it was the work of a suicide bomber
Published 2 hours ago | Updated 7 minutes ago

At least 19 people were killed Monday, and about 50 injured, in a suspected suicide bombing at Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, British police said.

On social media, people shared videos of people rushing from the arena and ambulances arriving.

“I just heard a loud bang right after the concert," Ivo Delgado told NBC News. "Only heard one. People started screaming and going to the other side of the arena. When we left [the main arena] there was smoke and people lying on the floor."

Multiple U.S. officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News that preliminary reports indicate that a single explosion took place outside the arena on the southwest side, opposite the Manchester Victoria transit station, which is part of the greater arena complex.

U.S. officials briefed on the investigation say authorities suspect the incident in Manchester was conducted by a suicide bomber. The Greater Manchester police said it was "being treated as a terrorist incident."

Initial reports from the scene relayed to U.S. officials note that a number of the casualties may be from a stampede that occurred after the incident, NBC News reported.

Joseph Carozza, a representative from Grande's U.S. record label, said the singer is OK and they are investigating what happened.

Video from inside the arena showed concertgoers screaming as they made their way out amid a sea of pink balloons.

Many on Twitter were using the hashtag #RoomForManchester to offer spare rooms or other resources. Several hotels in the area were among those offering a room to those stranded in the area, the Manchester Evening News reported.

Facebook activated its Safety Check feature for people to mark themselves as safe or check on friends or loved ones.

The Dangerous Woman Tour is the third concert tour by Grande to support her third studio album, Dangerous Woman. The tour began on February 3, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

From Manchester the tour is to move through Europe, including Belgium, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and France, through the summer with stops in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and on to Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia and more.

Manchester Arena, which can hold 21,000 people, is the largest indoor arena in Europe, according to its website.

 

[voiceofreason]

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/isis-takes-responsibility-for-deadly-uk-concert-bombing/

ISIS takes responsibility for deadly U.K. concert bombing

May 23, 2017, 8:01 AM| Salman Abedi, 23, has been identified as a suspect in Monday's Manchester, England concert bombing. The bomb at Ariana Grande's concert killed at least 22 people, mostly children.

http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/salma...ande-concert-attack-suspect-name-photos-isis/

Salman Abedi: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Published 8:35 am EDT, May 23, 2017 Updated 8:37 am EDT, May 23, 2017

Salman Abedi, 23, has been identified as the attacker who detonated a suicide bomb at the Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing at least 22 people and wounding 59 others, CBS News reports.

Abedi died at the scene and is believed to have used an improvised explosive device, police said. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

[voiceofreason]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...dead-manchester-attack-ariana-grande-concert/

Eight-year-old girl dies in Manchester terror attack

23 May 2017 • 2:29pm

An eight-year-old girl who become separated from her mother and sister during the Manchester terror attack has been confirmed dead.

Saffie-Rose Roussos died from her injuries after a terrorist committed the atrocity at a concert by American singer Ariana Grande on Monday night.

She is the second person to be confirmed dead, after it was confirmed Georgina Bethany Callander, 18, had died.

Ms Callander had met Ariana Grande in 2015, and posted excitedly about the time she met the singer on Instagram.

 

[voiceofreason]

http://abc7ny.com/news/ariana-grande-reacts-to-manchester-explosion-broken/2026204/

Ariana Grande reacts to fatal Manchester explosion: 'Broken'

Tuesday, May 23, 2017 07:19AM
Singer Ariana Grande said she had no words after an act of suspected terrorism at her Manchester concert killed at least 22 people.

broken.
from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words.



-----


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2760170/Ariana-Grande-said-hoped-fans-f-ing-die.html

That would've been Better Left Unsaid! Ariana Grande 'overheard saying she hoped her fans would all f***ing die'
Updated: 03:54 EDT, 18 September 2014

She is fast getting a reputation for being a bit of a diva.

But Arianna Grande looks set to be subjected to another torrent of criticism after it was claimed she said she hoped her fans would 'f***ing die.'

The 21-year-old Better Left Unsaid warbler is said to have come out with the astonishing statement while visiting a New York radio station in the summer.

An industry insider told the New York Daily News: 'She did autographs and pics and was all smiles until she got into the elevator

'And as soon as the doors shut she said, "I hope they all f***ing die."'

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ariana-...rena-bombing-suspect-salman-abedi-isis-claim/

CBS News/ May 23, 2017, 8:52 AM
Manchester bomber identified: Latest in terror investigation
Last Updated May 23, 2017 11:38 AM EDT

LONDON -- CBS News confirmed Tuesday that the man who blew himself up the previous night at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, was 23-year-old Salman Abedi, who was known to British authorities prior to the attack.

In a generic statement posted online, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for Abedi's suicide bomb attack, which left 22 people dead, including children, at one of the entrances to the Manchester Arena.

Officials said one man was arrested Tuesday in southern Manchester in connection with the attack, and urged people to avoid the center of the city as raids continued at addresses around the city.

Police and British Prime Minister Theresa May made it clear the focus of the investigation was to determine whether the bomber "was acting alone, or was part of a wider group."

ISIS issued its claim of responsibility in a brief, generic statement that did not identify the bomber and appeared to get some of the facts of the attack wrong. It claimed a "caliphate soldier managed to place a number of devices among a gathering of crusaders in Manchester, and detonated them."

Officials say there was only one explosion, and there have been no indications that other devices were discovered at or near the arena.

U.S. intelligence sources told CBS News they were exercising caution on the early claim of responsibility from ISIS. Authorities are still looking into whether it was a killer who acted alone or who might have had some level of support from the terror network. U.S. intelligence officials were offering assistance in the investigation, as is standard practice in any case involving a close ally.

Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, noted in Congress on Tuesday that ISIS frequently claims responsibility for terror attacks, and their claim has yet to be verified by U.S. officials.

Testifying in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Coats said the Manchester attack should serve as a reminder that the terrorist threat is "not going away and it needs significant attention."

ISIS has repeatedly called for its supporters in the West to attack "soft targets" like sports events and concerts in any way possible.

Previous attacks in Europe and the U.S. have been claimed by individuals who support ISIS and have made contact with its members, but who were not directly supported or guided by the terror network.

Manchester police confirmed the arrest of a 23-year-old man in the southern Chorlton neighborhood of the city on Tuesday morning. The suspect taken into custody was not identified, but police said the arrest was linked to the bombing. Witnesses said the man was smiling as he was apprehended.

Police also confirmed that officers had conducted a controlled explosion at the scene of a separate raid connected to the arena attack in the Fallowfield neighborhood, in south Manchester.

Theo Brown, who lives near the Fallowfield address, told CBS News he heard a loud explosion and then saw about 50 law enforcement officers in the street.

The bomb wielded by Abedi was designed to kill and maim as many people as possible; many of the survivors suffered shrapnel wounds and ball bearings were found at the scene.

There was security at the concert, but the bomber apparently didn't try to get into the venue, instead blowing himself up in an entrance foyer area as concertgoers flooded out of the arena. Prime Minister May said the attacker had deliberately chosen "his time and place to cause maximum carnage" in the young crowd.

 

[voiceofreason]

http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/23/manch...te-after-ariana-grande-terror-attack-6656860/

Manchester’s top police say ‘we won’t tolerate hate’ after Ariana Grande terror attack
Tuesday 23 May 2017 5:29 pm

The chief constable of Greater Manchester Police has urged the city not to ‘tolerate hate’ following the deadly bombing that killed 22 people.

In his latest statement about the attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, chief constable Ian Hopkins said it is ‘vital’ that Mancunians stand together.

‘We understand that feelings are very raw right now and people are bound to be looking for answers. However, now, more than ever, it is vital that our diverse communities in Greater Manchester stand together and do not tolerate hate.:barfx4:

 

[voiceofreason]

http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/salma...ande-concert-attack-suspect-name-photos-isis/

Salman Abedi: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Published 8:35 am EDT, May 23, 2017 Updated 6:21 pm EDT, May 23, 2017

1. Abedi, Who Was Known to British Authorities, Is Believed to Have Traveled to Libya Recently, Where He Received Terror Training

2. Abedi’s Parents Came to Britain as Refugees, but He Was Born in Manchester & Was Studying at Salford University

3. Police Are Working to Determine if Abedi Was Working With a Network

4. ISIS Has Called Abedi a ‘Soldier’ After Its Supporters Celebrate the Attack on Social Media