Suicide bombing outside Manchester

By NEYDJA PETITHOMME

At 10:30 p.m. Manchester time, families and friends gathered together to enjoy a time of music and fun at the Ariana Grande “Dangerous Woman Tour.” According to British authorities, during the time of the concert, an armed man committed suicide while detonating a bomb outside Manchester Arena near the ticketing booth, leaving 22 casualties, 60 injured, and others traumatized, scared, and confused.

The night of the explosion, I was coming back from the gym. Following my usual nightly routine, before doing anything else, I tuned into MSNBC in order to get updates on the latest news before eating and then heading to bed. As I began to watch breaking news, my mouth dropped. I was shell-shocked, lost for words. I could not process the information.

The first thing that came into mind, “Why would anyone in their right mind decide to bomb mothers, fathers, and children who are just enjoying themselves, at an Ariana Grande concert?” Andy Holey, waiting to pick his wife and daughter, flew 30 feet from the doors, when the explosion occurred. His first thought was to find his family. When he couldn’t find them, he then proceeded to searching through the bodies for them. He was lucky enough to find his loved ones alive.

Grande responded in a Tweet just five hours after the bombing, “From the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry.” Grande cancelled her remaining 36 shows.

This was a difficult decision for the Grande team to make. This allowed me to feel that Grande is a caring person, who genuinely cares for the safety of her fans.