After Suicide Bomber Kills 22 At Ariana Grande Concert, Singer Tweets 'From The Bottom Of My Heart, I Am So, So Sorry'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Singer Ariana Grande issued a statement hours after a suicide bomber set off an explosion that left 22 dead and more than 50 injured at her concert Monday in Manchester, England.
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Grande, who was not injured in the blast, tweeted the following:
Greater Manchester police confirmed that 19 people were killed in the explosion just before 10:35 p.m. local time. Police said it was "currently being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise."
Two U.S. law enforcement told CBS News the blast was carried out by a suicide bomber. The sources said the bomber traveled by tube, or subway, to the train station near the arena – Victoria Station – and went to the ticket area. There, he detonated the device as people were leaving the concert, the sources said.
Sources said ball bearings have been recovered, and officials are tracing the movements of the attacker through closed-circuit television.
Joseph Carozza, a representative from Grande's U.S. record label, said the singer is OK and they are investigating what happened.
"A huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena," concertgoer Majid Khan, 22, told Britain's Press Association. "It was one bang and essentially everyone from the other side of the arena where the bang was heard from suddenly came running towards us as they were trying to exit."
Added Oliver Jones, 17: "The bang echoed around the foyer of the arena and people started to run."
Police advised the public to avoid the area around the Manchester Arena, and the train station near the arena, Victoria Station, was evacuated and all trains canceled.
The Dangerous Woman Tour is the third concert tour by Grande and supports her third studio album, "Dangerous Woman."
Grande's role as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon's high school sitcom "Victorious" propelled her to teen idol status, starting in 2010. The 23-year-old Grande, with her signature high ponytail, went on to also star in spinoffs that included "iCarly," as she worked to develop her recording career.
The tour began in Phoenix in February. After Manchester, Grande was to perform at venues in Europe, including Belgium, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and France, with concerts in Latin America and Asia to follow.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
