On Wednesday, more victims of the suicide bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester were identified. Michelle Kiss, 45, was confirmed as one of the victims after her niece, Laura Murray, posted news of her death on Facebook.
Kiss' family also released the following statement on Wednesday through the Greater Manchester Police:
Michelle Kiss was a loving wife to Tony, mother to Dylan, Elliot and Millie, as well as daughter to Mick and Christine and sister to Nichola. She tragically died during the horrible event that occurred on Monday night. Family was her life and we are all obviously devastated by her loss. She has been taken away from us, and all that love her, in the most traumatic way imaginable. We hope to draw from the courage and strength she showed in her life to get through this extremely difficult time.
Kiss was from Blackburn, Lancashire, and The Daily Beast reported that she ran a scaffolding business with her husband, Tony, while taking a class at Salford University. Her young daughter Millie — with whom she attended the Ariana Grande concert that night in Manchester — is a child actress who performed the role of Molly in a Liverpool Empire Theatre production of Annie. A photo of Millie has been making its rounds online since the attack, in which she is being comforted by a policewoman. In the hours after the attack, Millie was described as "safe," but friends and relatives were worried when they could not obtain news of Kiss' whereabouts.
Before it was confirmed that Kiss had died, her friends and family frantically posted to social media, seeking any information that might enable them to find her. According to the Manchester Evening News, a photo posted by Kiss' son Elliot received more than 100,000 shares. Her niece, Murray, thanked her fellow social media users for helping out in the search for Kiss when she confirmed the news of her aunt's death.
The Evening News also reported that Kiss' last Facebook post was a picture of her daughter Millie and a friend, accompanied by a caption expressing excitement for the concert.
Kiss was one of 22 people who died in the Manchester attack, and a further 64 people were injured and taken to the hospital, according to BBC. A Polish couple, an eight-year-old girl, and several other young girls and mothers were among the fatalities. The Independent reported that an off-duty police officer was also killed during the attack.
In the aftermath of the Manchester attack, a surge of donations from across the world poured into multiple crowdfunding campaigns to help support the victims and families affected.
