A suicide bomber was likely behind the deadly explosion in Manchester, England on Monday that killed 22 people and injured 59 others who were attending an Ariana Grande concert at one of Europe’s largest arenas.
Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Manchester Arena just before 10:35 p.m. local time on Monday. Authorities are still telling people to avoid the area as the crime scene investigation continues today.
The incident is being treated as a “terrorist incident until police know otherwise,” police said.
The attack was likely carried out by “one man” using an “improvised explosive device,” police said. The person died at the scene.
“We believe the attacker was carrying an improvised explosive device which he detonated, causing this atrocity,” Ian Hopkins, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said at a press conference early Tuesday. “Our priority is to work with the national counter-terrorism policing network to establish more details about the individual who carried out this attack.”
President Trump offered his condolences in remarks during a visit to Israel, saying the victims were “murdered by evil losers in life.”
“I won’t call them monsters because they’d like that term. They’d think that’s a great name,” Trump said in Bethlehem after a visit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “I will call them from now on losers because that’s what they are. They’re losers and we’ll have more of them. But they’re losers remember that.”
It was unclear if the attacker was acting as a part of a terrorist organization, according to Hopkins, who said the investigation was “complex and wide-ranging.”
“The priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network,” Hopkins said. “We would ask people not to speculate on his details or share names.”
He said that the wounded were being treated at six different hospitals.
The explosion happened inside of the arena’s foyer area after the concert finished, according to witnesses, who reported hearing a loud bang as they exited the arena. The venue holds about 21,000 people and is one of Europe’s largest indoor arenas, according to its website.
The concert arena is connected to the Manchester Victoria Station, the city’s second-largest train station.
Abby Barker, who attended the concert, told ABC News that Grande had just left the stage when there was a loud bang.
“I looked across the arena and everyone over there started running in different directions, screaming in panic,” she said. “We all started panicking too and ran out the doors and ran down the stairs out of the arena. We got outside and children were crying their eyes out, people talking about it being a bomb/gunshots, there were many parents running towards the arena but no one knew exactly what it was.”
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Hundreds of police officers were on the scene overnight and transportation security was beefed up in Manchester and in other areas, according to police.
The mayors of several major cities across the globe, including those of London and New York City, also said they were reviewing their security measures as a precaution after the attack.
The British Transport Police department said extra officers would be patrol at “key railway stations as well as on trains around the country” in the wake of the attack.
“Throughout the day, commuters can expect to see additional officers on their journey,” BTP Assistant Chief Constable Robin Smith said in a statement early Tuesday. “This will include both armed and unarmed officers.”
“As the public would expect in response to an incident such as this, extra BTP officers will be on patrol at key railway stations as well as on trains around the country.” An emergency hotline has been set up for people concerned for “loved ones who may not have returned home, police said, and social networking giant Facebook activated its global “safety check“ feature in the wake of the deadly attack.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have agreed that all national campaigning in the General Election were “suspended until further notice” in the aftermath of the incident, according to the Press Association, which cited Labour officials.
May held an emergency COBRA meeting at 9 a.m. today. The group — composed of government ministers, military and security chiefs — typically meets after major incidents to plan the government’s overall response. May will also review the U.K.’s threat level, which is currently one below the highest possible level.
May said her thoughts were with victims and their families after what is she said police were treating “as an appalling terrorist attack.”
ABC News