Manchester police say a male suicide bomber likely caused arena blast, raise death toll to 22

Concergoers huddle after explosion at Ariana Grande concert
(Image credit: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)

On Tuesday morning, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins of the Greater Manchester Police said that the deadly explosion at the end of Monday night's Ariana Grande concert in the English city's Manchester Arena was likely caused by one man who exploded an "improvised explosive device" and died in the blast. He also raised the death toll to 22 people, including children, and said 59 people were wounded. British authorities are treating the explosion as a terrorist attack, and Hopkins said police believe the man acted alone but have 400 officers deployed in the investigation, which will try to determine if the attacker was part of a broader network and if nuts and bolts were used as shrapnel, as some concertgoers have reported.

Security was tight at the arena, as for all concerts, and it isn't clear that the suicide bomber was inside the venue at all. Some reports suggest the explosion came from the ticket area, the foyer, or the covered area connecting the arena to the adjacent train station.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.