These Are The Lives Cut Tragically Short At The Ariana Grande Concert In Manchester

"A true ray of sunshine [who] loved everyone for who they were."
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The victims of the bombing at Monday’s Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, include an 8-year-old girl “loved by everyone” and an 18-year-old who revered Grande and whose friends called her a “true ray of sunshine [who] loved everyone for who they were.”

All gone. Much too soon.

Below are the victims who have been identified by friends or family in media reports. This story will be updated as new information becomes available.

Georgina Callander, 18

Callander, a student at Runshaw College in Lancashire, was the first of 22 victims to be publicly named.

She had just tweeted at Grande the day before the show, “SO EXCITED TO SEE U TOMORROW.” Her school said in a statement that she died in the attack, which also injured 59 people.

In 2015, Callander shared a backstage photo with Grande at Manchester Arena, the site of Monday’s bombing. “I hugged her so tight and she said she loved my bow. I can’t get over this, I never will,” she wrote at the time. Callander is on the left in the photo, below.

In Twitter tributes from friends and loved ones, one woman called Callander “a beautiful girl with the kindest heart & soul.” Another, Sophie Jauregui, wished that her “beautiful best friend” rest in peace, saying she was a “true ray of sunshine and loved everyone for who they were.”

“Once Upon A Time” actor Sean Maguire, who’d recently met Callander, also voiced his condolences.

Callander was rushed from the scene of the blast to the hospital, where she reportedly died with her mother at her bedside.

Runshaw College paid tribute to her in a statement. “It is with enormous sadness that it appears that one of the people who lost their lives in Monday’s Manchester attack was one of our students here at Runshaw College,” the school said. “Georgina Callander was a former Bishop Rawstorne pupil studying with us on the second year of her Health and Social Care course. Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to all of Georgina’s friends, family and all of those affected by this loss. We are offering all available support possible at this tragic time, including counselling with our dedicated student support team.”

Saffie Rose Roussos, 8

Saffie was attending the concert with her family, according to the BBC.

“She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly,” Chris Upton, head teacher at Tarleton Community Primary School, told the BBC. “News of Saffie’s death in this appalling attack has come as a tremendous shock to all of us and I would like to send our deepest condolences to all of her family and friends.”

Saffie’s mother and sister were hospitalized with shrapnel injuries, The Daily Telegraph reported.

John Atkinson

Atkinson, who was in his 20s, was leaving the arena when the bomb struck, according to the Manchester Evening News.

According to his Facebook tribute page, Atkinson lived in Manchester, studied health and social at Bury College, and was a Manchester United soccer fan.

“John you turned into an amazing young man so kind and thoughtful you will be missed by everyone,” Tracey Crolla wrote, per the Evening News.

Nana Julie Mills wrote, “Just heard one of my good friends whom I’ve known since he was a little boy passed away last night. Condolences to his family and friends. RIP John Atkinson.”

Alison Howe

Howe, who was in her 40s and from Royton in Greater Manchester, was picking up her 15-year-old daughter from the concert when the bomb exploded.

They took a caring beautiful mum and step mother away from us all she was amazing to us all x love you loads Alison Howe,” Jordan Howe wrote on Facebook Tuesday.

Lisa Lees

Lees, a friend of Howe who was also in her 40s and from Royton, was outside the arena with Howe to pick up her daughter, People noted.

“For those who don’t know Lisa is gone but never ever forgotten I love you Lisa I’ll miss you so much,” the victim’s brother, Lee Hunter, wrote Tuesday on Facebook. Lees is on the right in this FB post:

Olivia Campbell, 15.

Olivia’s mother, Charlotte Campbell, made a wrenching appeal on British television Tuesday for help in finding her ― but later announced her death on Facebook.

“So, so sorry Charlotte,” one woman wrote. “We were all hoping and praying for you all to have a different outcome. May Olivia RIP. She was a beautiful girl and clearly very loved. I hope that knowing she knew that will give you some small amount of peace.”

Martyn Hett, 29

The HuffPost blogger’s brother Dan Hett confirmed his death Wednesday on Twitter. “We are heartbroken,” he wrote.

Hett, a PR manager from Stockport, was “iconic and beautiful,” his boyfriend, Russell Hayward wrote. “He left this world exactly how he lived, centre of attention.”

The HuffPost blogger charmed the internet in 2016 by beseeching viewers to buy crafts online from his mother’s ignored booth at an art fair, according to the Independent. The enthusiastic response earned Hett and his mom appearances on television.

Megan Hurley

Outlets reported Megan Hurley’s death after a funding effort was launched for her funeral.

Helen McDermott of Halewood, England, set up the JustGiving page. “We’re raising £3,000 to help fund a beautiful send off for Megan who was taken far too early due to the awful attacks at Manchester Evening News Arena on 22/05/2017,” she wrote.

The fund had received almost £5,500 in donations by Wednesday morning.

Megan appears to have been from Halewood, near Liverpool. Her age could not be confirmed at this point.

Kelly Brewster, 32

The civil servant from Sheffield, Yorkshire, reportedly died in an act of valor.

Her uncle, Paul Dryhurst, said she “heroically shielded” her 11-year-old niece from the explosion, the BBC reported.

Brewster’s partner, Ian Winslow, wrote that she “was the happiest she has ever been” and noted all the plans they had together.

Brewster had attended the concert with her sister, who had her jaw broken, and her sister’s 11-year-old daughter, who suffered two broken legs, the Telegraph reported.

Nell Jones, 14

The teen was praised as a “very bright” and “popular” student by Denis Oliver, her headteacher at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive and Sixth Form in Cheshire East, northwest England.

“I have just done six assemblies to tell the pupils,” Oliver said. “Children are all over the place crying. We are all devastated.”

Jones’ friend Freya Lewis was seriously injured but survived, Oliver said.

Angelika and Marcin Klis

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski confirmed the deaths of the Polish couple living in York, the Manchester Evening News reported.

The pair, in their 40s, were waiting for their two daughters when tragedy struck.

One of the Klis’ children, Alex, had previously posted a photo of her parents from the night of the attack, hoping to discover their whereabouts.

An unidentified woman at the family home told the Telegraph, “It is a distressing time for the girls.”

Jane Tweddle-Taylor

Praised by her husband as a “very lovely lady, liked by everybody,” Tweddle-Taylor had accompanied a friend to the arena to pick up her pal’s children, the BBC reported. That’s when the bomb detonated. Her friend and kids survived, but Tweddle-Taylor did not.

The mother of three, in her 50s, worked as a receptionist at South Shore Academy in Blackpool, the Manchester Evening News noted.

Principal Jane Bailey called Tweddle-Taylor a a “truly wonderful friend and colleague,” the BBC noted.

Sorrell Leczkowski

The teen died in the blast after attending the concert with her mother and grandmother, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported on Wednesday. Her mother and grandmother were hospitalized.

Sorrell was a student at Allerton High in Leeds, the paper noted.

In a Facebook note to the family, one user wrote: “Sleep tight Sorrell, gone at such a young age. RIP. Simply devastating.”

A Just Giving page was posted so Sorrell’s mother, Samantha, can convalesce and not “worry about getting back to work any time soon.”

Donations have far exceeded the initial goal.

Michelle Kiss

In a statement issued on Wednesday, family members said Kiss’ death came “in the most traumatic way imaginable.”

A mother of three from Blackburn, Kiss accompanied her daughter Millie to the show, the Telegraph reported.

Kiss “was a loving wife to Tony, mother to Dylan, Elliot and Millie, as well as daughter to Mick and Christine and sister to Nichola,” her family said in a statement, per the Manchester Evening News.

“Family was her life and we are all obviously devastated by her loss,” they wrote. “She has been taken away from us, and all that love her, in the most traumatic way imaginable. We hope to draw from the courage and strength she showed in her life to get through this extremely difficult time.”

An off-duty female police officer also died in the blast, according to reports. She had not been identified as of this writing, but was reportedly an officer with the Cheshire Police. Her husband was critically injured and their two children were also being treated.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to the location of Runshaw College as being in Lancaster.

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22 Dead In Explosion At Manchester Arena

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