Police have named 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the suspected bomber behind the attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people.
Police earlier said a man carrying explosives acted as a lone attacker and died in the blast Monday night. Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins named the suspect Tuesday but said that the man's identity had not been yet confirmed by a coroner. They have not publicly suggested whether or not the killer was working alone.
The blast marked the deadliest terror attack on British soil since the 2005 London bombings. The bomb was designed to kill and maim as many as possible; many of the survivors suffered shrapnel wounds and ball bearings were found at the scene.
The report of the arrest came at the same time as police confirmed that a man had been arrested at the Arndale Centre, amid a bomb scare there. Police suggested that the arrest and the events were not thought to be connected to the night's attacks. The arrest was announced just moments after May denounced the "appalling sickening cowardice" of the lone suicide bomber who detonated a homemade device in the foyer of the Manchester Arena just as thousands of young people were leaving a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.
Declaring that police and security services would be given whatever resources were needed to track down any accomplices of the attacker, May vowed: "The terrorists will never win and our values, our country and our way of life will always prevail." Speaking outside Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency committee, May said that police and security services believed they knew the identify of the bomber, who died alongside his victims.
She said that he had chosen the time and place of his attack deliberately to cause "maximum carnage and to kill and injure indiscriminately".
Maypaid tributes to emergency workers and members of the public who rushed to help. Britain's political parties have suspended their general election campaigning in light of a fatal explosion in Manchester.
Manchester shopping centre briefly evacuated
Fresh panic struck Manchester following the evacuation of the Arndale Centre, where a man was arrested.
Witnesses reported people running through nearby streets and shouting "run" on Tuesday morning.Collette Nicholls, a member of staff from Superdrug, told the Manchester Evening News people were "running and screaming". "Then we were all told by our manager to come out," she added. "We're all a bit shook up."
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said a man was arrested at the Arndale Centre, adding: "This is not currently believed to be connected to last night's attack."There were unconfirmed reports the arrest came after a suspicious package was found in the Arndale centre's food court. A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police told The Independent she could not immediately confirm the cause of the temporary evacuation.
A large police cordon was been set up around the centre and Market Street, which has since been lifted.
The centre has since been reopened. It came after a suicide bombing killed at least 22 people at Manchester Arena in the worst terror attack to hit the UK since 7/7. Police said the perpetrator, a man believed to be acting alone, died at the scene. A 22-year-old man has been arrested in south Manchester in connection with the attack. Ian Hopkins, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said investigators believe the attack was carried out by a lone suicide bomber "carrying" a homemade device. "The priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network," he added. Central Manchester was previously targeted by the Provisional IRA, which injured more than 200 people with a truck bomb detonated outside the Arndale Centre in 1996.
Muslim taxi drivers give free lifts and help victims after terror strike
Muslim taxi drivers have been praised for helping victims and concert-goers following a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester which killed 22 people and more than injured 59.
The police have not confirmed the background of the attacker and while some sought to link the attack to Islam, social media users were quick to defend the city's Muslim community. Outside the stadium, where an unidentified man detonated a homemade bomb, taxi drivers of all backgrounds and religions directed passengers to safe places to pick them up and navigated their way out of danger.
While some people were accused of exploiting what has been described as a terrorist attack to spread fear and prejudice, others shared their experience of Muslims' support and generosity in the face of chaos. 'Muslims are to blame'- When in reality Muslim taxi drivers are offering free lifts, and a Muslim doctor working into the night saving lives," tweeted one social media user. "Absolutely a Muslim driver took me home last night gave me water and charged my phone," tweeted another. "Absolutely stars in my eyes."
Others offered people water and charged their mobile phones. "Our Muslim taxi driver directed us to a safe place and said he would never have left us, he waited till we could get to him," read another tweet.