Police have confirmed that 19 people were killed and over 50 were injured by a suspected terrorist bombing following an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in the UK city on Monday evening (May 22nd).
The Manchester Police department said in a statement Monday night that they are treating the investigation of the explosion as "a terrorist incident until police know otherwise" and some media outlets are reporting that it was a possible suicide bombing based on claims made by anonymous sources.
CNN reported that an unnamed "western official" told them at a "male at scene at the scene in Manchester has been indentified as the probable suicide bomber," although that had not been confirmed by police at press time.
The bombing reportedly occurred as fans were leaving the venue following the concert and police confirmed that they did a controlled second explosion of abandoned clothing that was found in the area, which was originally suspected of being a 'suspicious item'.
The Manchester Police Department tweeted the following "There will be a controlled explosion in Cathedral gardens shortly if you hearing anything don't be concerned." A short time later they added "Officers carrying out a precautionary controlled explosion in Cathedral Garden confirm that it was abandoned clothing, not a suspicious item".
According to UK media outlets, Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement, "We are working to establish the full details of what is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack. All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected."
The venue posted the following statement on their Twitter account "We can confirm there was an incident as people were leaving the Ariana Grande show last night. The incident took place outside the venue in a public space."
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