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Shocking news is coming out of the UK right now as police have confirmed an incident resulting in multiple fatalities has taken place at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. Local police received word that an explosion or explosions were heard at the show just before 10:35 PM local time. According to the Manchester Evening News, at least 19 people are dead and 50 more injured in the aftermath. A representative from Grande’s US record label confirms that the artist is safe.
22-year-old Majid Khan, who was attending the concert, told The Independent: “I and my sister, along with a lot of others, were seeing Ariana Grande perform at Manchester Arena, and we were all exiting the venue when around 10:40-10:45pm-ish, a huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena.”
EXPLOSION AT MANCHESTER ARENA AND EVERYONE RAN OUT SO SCARY😭 pic.twitter.com/pJbUBoELtE
— ♡♡ (@hannawwh) May 22, 2017
One man, who took his daughter to the concert, told the Manchester Evening News, “Ariana said: ‘Bye bye Manchester!’ The lights came on then there was two big noises and people started running and shouting.
“We got in a lift to go up to the next floor to the exits.
“When the doors opened I saw blood on the floor and two injured people. Blood all over their faces. A lot of people were in shock.”
Police statement on incident at Manchester Arena pic.twitter.com/gaKASukx9a
— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 22, 2017
Police were quick to jump into action, locking down the area as well as alerting the public of the tragic developments, confirming that first responders were working tirelessly at the scene. Meanwhile, friends of the concertgoers are taking to Twitter under the hashtag #Manchester to verify their loved ones’ safety.
As many as 21,000 people were in attendance of the concert. According to a statement from Manchester police: ‘This is currently being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise.”
Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.
(Photo via Frederick M. Brown + Dave Thompson/Getty)
