What was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime for young concert goers and their parents in Manchester England, turned into a tragedy within minutes. Causing the largest amount of fatalities since the 2005 suicide bombings of British transportation systems, the disaster that occurred last night was another addition to the string of terrorist attacks on Europe by ISIS.
At 10:35pm (Manchester time), just as Ariana Grande had completed her final song and fans were beginning to leave from the Manchester Arena, a blast came rattling through the stadium. The concert arena had a capacity of 21,000 and held mostly children and adults that night.
After hearing the blasts, people ran out of the arena in a rush, many getting trampled amid the excitement. As people were running out, victims reported seeing blood all over the floors and investigators later found out the bomb went off right outside the arena, catching people as they were exiting and waiting for their loved ones
It was later reported that the bombs were ‘dirty bombs’ and contained nails and other debris meant to cause greater destruction. 22 people have now been declared casualties and 59 more were injured, many of them young children and parents.
The truly amazing thing that came out of this horrific event was how much the city of Manchester was able to pull together and deal with the situation. People were volunteering to provide taxi rides home for victims, and hotels around the area opened their doors for children and parents to try and locate their loved ones amid the chaos.
This disaster was being called a terrorist attack as soon as the world learned of the news. ISIS then formally took responsibility for the act the next day as a suicide bombing. The bomber, 22 year old Salman Abedi, was found dead at the scene but it has not yet been discovered where he was born and what network he was directly connected to.
The aftermath of this bombing resulted in Britain’s terror rating changing to severe, and a record number of troops and police being stationed in the streets since 2003. The rest of Europe has also been on high alert, as this another addition to the string of terrorism that has occurred here lately.
Celebrities and leaders around the world took to social media to offer their condolences to the victims and families that had to go through this horrific event. Ariana Grande tweeted later that night saying “ Broken. From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don’t have words.”