5楼pp_dream
(Another day in paradise)
发表于 2017-5-24 03:07
只看此人
Victims included teenagers and young children. It was the deadliest mass killing in Britain since the 2005 London subway bombings, which left 52 people dead.
British Prime Minister Theresa May called the explosion “a callous terror attack” and said it was “among the worst terrorist incidents we have ever experienced in the United Kingdom.”
“This attack stands out for its appalling, sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenseless children and young people,” she said.
Police also arrested a 23-year-old as part of their investigation. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement released on Tuesday, though it wasn’t clear whether the terror group had any direct role in planning the attack.
“The priority remains to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network,” Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said in a press conference.
The explosion occurred just outside the arena at 10:35 p.m., with terrified fans running to safety. Dozens of people described scenes of panic as parents and relatives searched for children who had attended the sold-out show.
“My husband and I were standing against the wall, luckily, and all of a sudden there was this thing. I can’t even describe it,” Elena Semino, a mother who was waiting to pick up her 17-year-old daughter, told The Guardian. “There was this heat on my neck, and when I looked up, there were bodies everywhere.”
The U.K. has remained on heightened alert for months over the threat of a terrorist attack. MI5, the country’s domestic intelligence agency, had previously set the country’s terrorist threat level at “severe,” the second-highest level.
Manchester Arena is one of Europe’s largest with a capacity of 21,000. (In comparison, New York City’s Madison Square Garden can seat around 20,000 depending on the event.) Since it opened in 1995, the arena has hosted popular international sporting events, comedy shows and concerts, including American acts like Chris Rock, Madonna and Lady Gaga, as well as British groups Oasis, The Verve and The Charlatans.