British police suspect suicide bomber killed 19, injured 50 in Manchester

British authorities suspect a suicide bomber was behind the terror attack that killed 19 people and injured at least 50 in Manchester on Monday night, outside the city arena where American pop star Ariana Grande had been performing.

The suspicion is based on forensic evidence collected at the scene, authorities told CNN, which further reported that a bomb may have been placed in a backpack.

Police said Monday that an explosion took place at around 10:35 p.m. local time. “So far 19 people have been confirmed dead, with around 50 others injured. This is currently being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise,” the Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

The Manchester Arena said the attack occurred outside the venue, in a public space.

There was mass panic after the explosion at the end of the concert, which was part of Grande’s The Dangerous Woman Tour. The singer was not injured, according to a representative.

Eyewitnesses described a “huge bomb-like bang” and scenes of panic as young fans fled the venue.

Ambulances rushed to the Manchester Arena venue and police asked people to avoid the area. Bomb disposal units were seen at the scene after the explosion.

Police announced several hours after the incident that they were carrying out a controlled explosion of a second suspect device.

“There will be a controlled explosion in Cathedral gardens shortly if you hearing anything don’t be concerned,” the police tweeted Monday.

British Prime Minister Theresa May released a statement condemning “what is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack. All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected.”

Britain’s terrorist threat level has been set at “severe” in recent years indicating an attack is highly likely. Police said the explosion is being judged a terrorist attack unless new information proves otherwise.

Witnesses reported hearing two loud bangs coming from near the arena’s bars at about 10:35 p.m. but there were few further details.

Andy Holey told the BBC that he had gone to pick up his wife and daughter from the concert when “an explosion went off and it threw me about 30 feet from one set of doors to the other set of doors. When I got up I saw bodies lying on the ground. My first thought was to go into the Arena to try to find my family. When I couldn’t find them, I went outside with the police and fire and looked through some of the bodies to try and find my wife and daughter. I managed to find them eventually and they’re OK.”

“It was definitely an explosion and it was some force. It happened near the box office at the entrance to the Arena,” he said.

Isabel Hodgins, who had been attending the concert, told Sky News: “Everybody was panicking, there was pushing up the stairs.

“The corridor was full, it smelled of burning, there was quite a lot of smoke as we were leaving. It’s just shocking and we just feel very shaken up. We’re just lucky to have gotten away safely,” she said.

Concert-goer Majid Khan, 22, told Britain’s Press Association that “a huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena. It was one bang and essentially everyone from the other side of the arena where the bang was heard from suddenly came running towards us as they were trying to exit.”

“The bang echoed around the foyer of the arena and people started to run,” said Oliver Jones, 17.

Video from inside the arena showed concertgoers screaming as they made their way out amid a sea of pink balloons. Another clip showed panicked concertgoers running down a flight of stairs.

Several media outlets reported that there had been two explosions from within the 21,000 capacity venue.

People took to social media to try to track down family members and friends who had been at the concert and who were not responding to calls or texts.

Train services to and from Manchester Victoria Station — located under the Arena — were cancelled.

In March, five people were killed and more than 50 were wounded when a man rammed his car into pedestrians on Westminster bridge in London before crashing into the fence surrounding parliament. The attacker, 52-year-old Muslim convert Khalid Mahmood, was shot dead by police at the scene.

Investigators described the lone-wolf attack as “Islamist related terrorism”.