Manchester residents grapple with deadliest UK terror attack since 2005

Mancunians are struggling to make sense of the tragedy.

ByABC News
May 24, 2017, 11:17 AM

— -- In the wake of Monday's terror attack at a crowded concert hall, Manchester residents are struggling to make sense of the tragedy that killed and wounded dozens.

    At least 22 people, including children, were killed Monday night when a suicide bomb detonated at Manchester Arena, where American singer Ariana Grande had just finished performing. A total of 119 people received care at hospitals following the explosion, according to the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care.

    Officials said 64 people remain hospitalized across Greater Manchester; 20 are in critical care.

    Monday's bombing is the deadliest terror attack the United Kingdom has seen since 2005.

    PHOTO: ABC News' Molly Hunter speaks with Mancunians about how they're coping with the tragedy.
    ABC News' Molly Hunter speaks with Mancunians about how they're coping with the tragedy.

    Many Mancunians are showing solidarity for the victims at candlelit vigils and makeshift memorials across the city in northwest England.

    On Wednesday at a memorial in St. Ann's Square, residents lit candles and laid dozens of flowers. One woman told ABC News she is finding it difficult to cope with the tragedy as a mother because many of the victims were young.

    "It's like your own child," the woman said, after lighting a candle at the base of a statue outside St Ann's Church.

    The youngest known victim killed in Monday's attack was 8-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos. She was separated from her mother and sister, who were among the wounded, according to police.

    "Knowing that the youngest is 8-years-old," the woman, who didn't give her name, told ABC News, pausing for a moment before adding, "She's an angel, wherever she is."

    PHOTO: ABC News' Molly Hunter speaks with Mancunians about how they're coping with the tragedy.
    ABC News' Molly Hunter speaks with Mancunians about how they're coping with the tragedy.

    Another Manchester resident, who said his name was Raymond, told ABC News he came out to show resilience in the face of adversity.

    "No matter what evil there is out there, we can combat that through faith we have in ourselves and the people who live here," he said.

    Rather than allow the devastating attack divide Manchester, Raymond said the city's residents, of all races, religions and backgrounds, must unite.

    "We will defeat these people one day if we all show solidarity like today and that’s why I’m here," he told ABC News.

      ISIS has claimed responsibility for the devastating attack.

      Investigators on Tuesday identified 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the suspected suicide bomber behind the explosion. He died at the scene.

      At a press conference Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins indicated that authorities believe Abedi didn't act alone.

      "I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating," Hopkins told reporters.

      ABC News' Joshua Ascher, Clark Bentson, Benjamin Gittleson, Joshua Hoyos, Rachel Katz, Kirit Radia, Shahriar Rahmanzadeh, Rashid Haddou-Riffi, Rex Sakamoto, Joseph Simonetti and Marcus Wilford contributed to this report.

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