Country musicians express their grievance and disbelief over the deadly explosion in Manchester, Monday evening that took the lives of at least 19 people and injured over 50 individuals. Taking place shortly before pop artist Ariana Grande’s tour stop reaches its end, the horrific incident is highly suspected to be a suicide bombing attempt by the authorities until further evidence proves otherwise.
LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flats, The Cadillac Three, and Big Machine all gave out their thoughts and prayers to the victims. Blake Shelton expressed disbelief over the explosions and sent prayers to all who were affected, while Dan + Shay was disgusted that such tragedy would occur at a concert. According to the duo, “Concerts are supposed to be a place where people can go to escape the problems of this fucked up world.”
According to witnesses, they heard “several” loud explosions as thousands of fans were leaving the Manchester Arena and headed towards the cabs. As a result, the people panicked and caused a stampede that raced towards the nearby public transits and parking lot. The explosion’s real cause is also yet to be identified, although interviewed paramedics identified the injuries they were treating as ‘shrapnel-like’. The BBC also cited that authorities discovered a secondary ‘suspect device’ not far from where the first explosion took place, following police claims that no succeeding explosion had been reported. A controlled detonation near the arena was announced by The Greater Manchester Police department.