MANCHESTER, England – An apparent suicide bomber attacked an Ariana Grande concert as it ended Monday night, killing 22 people among a panicked crowd of young concertgoers, some still wearing the star’s trademark kitten ears as they fled.
Teenage screams filled the arena just after the explosion, which also killed the attacker and injured dozens.
The attack sparked a nightlong search for loved ones – parents for the children they had accompanied or agreed to pick up, and friends for each other after groups were scattered by the blast. Twitter and Facebook were filled with appeals for the missing.
Public transport shut down, and taxis offered to give stranded people free rides home, while residents opened their homes to provide lodging.
Police stand guard at dawn, after a blast at the Manchester Arena Tuesday, May 23, 2017. An explosion struck an Ariana Grande concert attended by thousands of young fans in northern England Monday night, killing more than a dozen of people and injuring dozens in what police were treating as a terrorist attack. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP) 
In this Sept. 24, 2016, file photo, Ariana Grande performs at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. Police say there are “a number of fatalities” after reports of an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in northern England on Monday, May 22, 2017.. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)The concert was attended by thousands of young music fans in northern England. Grande, who was not injured, tweeted hours later: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”