Read Ariana Grande's first statement after the Manchester arena attack

pulse

May 24, 2017 12:54 PM

The bombing at Ariana Grande's concert left 22 dead and 59 injured.

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According to ABC News, officials say that the attack at the Manchester Arena was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated an improvised explosive device near one of the concert venue's exits as concert goers were leaving the show.

The singer posted the following heartfelt message on Twitter after the attack:

Since Ariana’s fanbase is predominantly children and teens, several children were killed or injured in the attack, including an eight-year-old and an 18-year-old, CNN reports. Many children and their parents were separated in the chaos after the blast, and cell phone signals often didn’t work in the deluge of calls, adding to the panic at the scene. The news organization points out that this was the deadliest attack in the U.K. since the 2005 bombings in London that killed 52 people.

Ariana’s manager, Scooter Braun, also posted on Twitter about the terrorist attack, calling it a “cowardly act.”

Ariana is scheduled to play 13 more shows in the European leg of her world tour, including two more in London, but TMZ reports that they are on hold for now. (However, there has been no official word from Ariana or her team yet.)

According to ABC, a 23-year-old man has been arrested in Manchester in connection with the bombing while ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, although CNN points out that ISIS regularly takes credit for attacks that it was not involved in. Police are still investigating whether the attacker was part of a larger group.

Britain's terrorist threat level is still at "severe," the second-highest ranking on a five-point scale.

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