May 23rd, 2017 
(BREITBART) — 22 people have been confirmed dead and around 120 others are injured following reports of multiple explosions after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in the North of England on Monday Evening.
Greater Manchester Police originally said there had been a “number of fatalities and others injured” at the Manchester Arena, where Grammy-nominated pop singer Ariana Grande was performing. Nineteen people were confirmed dead as of 8pm EST.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins has confirmed the man suspected of carrying out last night’s attack was 22-year-old Salman Abedi.
Eyewitness accounts posted to social media show convoys of ambulances moving to the centre of Manchester as thousands of music fans fled the Manchester Evening News Arena.
UPDATE 2210 BST — May raises threat level to critical, ready to deploy Army on the streets – “Operation Temperer is now in force.”
In a televised statement from Downing Street, Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.K.’s terrorism threat level has been raised from severe to critical. ITV notes this level means “a terrorist attack is considered imminent.”
“It is a possibility that we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack,” said May.
She said the higher threat level means “there will be additional support available to the police as they work to keep us safe.”
“Operation Temperer is now in force,” May stated. Operation Temperer is a plan formulated after the Paris massacre, once considered secret by the British government, that could put up to 5,000 soldiers on the streets in the event of a major terrorist attack.
May specifically stated that initiating Operation Temperer meant the protection of key sites would be handed over to military personnel instead of the police, freeing up police officers for other duties.
“You might also see military personnel deployed at certain events, such as concerts and sports matches, helping the police to keep the public safe,” the Prime Minister explained. “In all circumstances, members of the Armed Forces who are deployed in this way will be under the command of police officers.”
“I do not want the public to feel unduly alarmed,” she emphasized. “We have faced a serious terrorist threat in our country for many years. The operational response I have just outlined is a proportionate and sensible response to the threat that our security experts judge we face. I ask everyone to be vigilant and to cooperate with and support the police as they go about their important work.”