On Monday evening, a tragic attack in Manchester resulted in the deaths of 22 people and injured over 100. Since then, many important Ariana Grande concert attack updates have emerged, including identification of many of the victims, among others.
As you man know, the Ariana Grande concert attack occurred on Monday evening around 10:30 p.m. local time, shortly after Grande finished her show at the Manchester Arena. A suspect detonated a bomb in the foyer area between the arena and the entrance to the Manchester Victoria rail station, causing massive casualties and injuries.
Sadly, following initial announcements on Monday evening into Tuesday morning that 19 people had been killed and around 50 injured in the blast, both the death toll and the the number of injuries have risen. Presently, the death toll from the bombing stands at 22 and the number of injured stands at 120.
Victims of the attack have also begun to be identified and, tragically, there are multiple children among the dead. So far, five of the 22 victims killed in the bombing have been publicly identified. The Telegraph reported Tuesday morning that the five known victims are: Kelly Brewster, age 32; Georgina Callander, age 18; Saffie-Rose Roussos, age 8; John Atkinson, age 26; and Olivia Campbell, age 15.
ISIS reportedly claimed responsibility for the Manchester attack on social media in the hours following the atrocity. The New York Times reported that one of the entity's social media posts stated that the suspect was one of its "soldiers." The Times noted that this social media post was among several others made by the Islamic State that referenced the Manchester bombing, some of which were contradictory.
On Tuesday evening, British Prime Minister Theresa May made a statement regarding the attack and terrorism threats in the United Kingdom. May noted that, unfortunately, the possibility that "there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack," had contributed to the decision of the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) to raise the terrorism threat level from "severe" to "critical." A critical threat level is defined as one where "an attack is expected imminently."
May also noted during her statement that, while the threat level has been raised and while the public may see evidence of more enhanced security throughout the UK, she does not want to cause excessive worry.
I do not want the public to feel unduly alarmed. We have faced a serious terrorist threat in our country for many years. And the operational response I have just outlined is a proportionate and sensible response to the threat that our security experts judge we face. I ask everybody to be vigilant, and to cooperate with and support the police as they go about their important work.
For now, this is where updates stand in regards to the aftermath of the horrifying concert bombing. Intelligence services in the UK will continue to monitor the terrorism threat level and adjust it accordingly, if necessary. Victims of the tragedy are continuing to receive treatment in several local hospitals and family members of those who have perished are being notified.
As the world awaits continued updates on the Manchester attack, there are many ways in which you can help the Manchester victims, if you are so inclined. You can also donate to the victims' families.
