The Latest on the investigation into the Manchester concert bombing (all times local) :
MANCHESTER, England (AP) – The Latest on the investigation into the Manchester concert bombing (all times local) : 1: 45 p.m. Manchester’s Premier League soccer clubs have combined to donate 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) to a victims’ fund established after Monday’s suicide bombing in the northern English city. The cash pledge from Manchester United and Manchester City takes the “We Love Manchester Emergency Fund” over 3 million pounds. United executive chairman Ed Woodward says “the barbarism of Monday evening’s attack has shocked everyone. Our clubs are right at the heart of our local communities in Manchester and it is right that we present a unified response to this tragedy.” Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hopes the donation “will go some small way to alleviate the daunting challenges faced by those directly affected.” ___ 1: 05 p.m. Queen Elizabeth II has told children injured in the Manchester bombing that the attack was “dreadful and wicked” as she visited a children’s hospital to meet victims, families and medical staff. The 91-year-old monarch told 14-year-old Evie Mills and her parents: “It’s dreadful. Very wicked, to target that sort of thing.” She also chatted and shook hands with hospital staff, and told the father of another teenager at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital: “It’s not something you expect at all.” Twelve children under the age of 16 were taken to the hospital by ambulance following Monday’s attack at Manchester Arena, where pop star Ariana Grande was finishing a concert when a powerful bomb killed 22. ___ 12: 50 p.m. The families of a teenage couple killed in the Manchester bombing say the pair “wanted to be together forever and now they are.” In a joint statement released through Manchester police, their families say 17-year-old Chloe Rutherford and 19-year-old Liam Curry were “perfect in every way for each other” and “inseparable.” The families said: “On the night our daughter Chloe died and our son Liam died, their wings were ready but our hearts were not.” The couple was among 22 people killed Monday night when bomber Salman Abedi targeted an Ariana Grande concert attended by many young people. Others confirmed dead on Thursday included 14-year-old Sorrell Leczkowski. Her family, who went on Monday to collect her from the concert, said her grandmother is in intensive care and her mother is recovering from surgery. ___ 12: 25 p.m. A British official says police in Manchester will stop sharing information about their bombing investigation with the U. S. until they get a guarantee that there will be no more leaks to the news media. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said there is progress being made on the investigation despite the leaks. British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise the issue of the leaks with President Donald Trump in Brussels later Thursday. British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published in The New York Times, though it was not clear where those came from. Manchester police would not comment on information-sharing, but said at a news conference that the families of attack victims were distressed by leaks. -By Paisley Dodds in London ___ 12: 15 p.m. The head of Manchester police says raids and searches across the city have uncovered items believed important to the investigation into the bombing at Manchester Arena. Chief Constable Ian Hopkins added that the eight suspects detained so far were “significant” arrests, without elaborating. He said Thursday the searches will take several more days to complete. Police have swooped in on multiple addresses in the city since Tuesday and those arrested include bomber Salman Abedi’s brother. Commenting on the leaking of evidence from the investigation to the New York Times, Hopkins said it was “absolutely understandable” that this caused “much distress” to families of victims already suffering with their loss. ___ 12 p.m. British police say an incident attended by officers and army bomb disposal teams in Manchester is now over and the area has been deemed safe. Greater Manchester Police said officers and soldiers went to a street in Hulme, southwest of central Manchester, on Thursday to deal with a possible suspicious package. The move sparked a brief period of alarm, coming amid a fast-moving investigation into Monday night’s deadly bomb blast at Manchester Arena that killed 22. Police say the bomber belonged to a network and that investigations are taking place across Manchester. Police said the cordon in the area has been removed. ___ 12 p.m. The family of an off-duty policewoman who died at the Manchester concert attack has paid tribute to her courage. Elaine McIver, who served with Cheshire Police, was at the Ariana Grande concert with her partner, Paul, who was wounded in the deadly explosion. In a statement Thursday, her family said she was “the best we could ever have wished for, ” adding: “Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics, instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it.” In total, 22 people – including teenagers and children – were killed in Monday night’s blast. ___ 11: 55 a.m. Queen Elizabeth II has arrived at a children’s hospital to visit those injured in the Manchester Arena blast and the medical staff treating them. Earlier Thursday, at 11 a.m., many across Britain fell silent and bowed their heads for a minute in tribute to the victims caught up in Monday night’s concert bombing. Crowds gathered at well-known sites including London’s Parliament and Trafalgar Squares and Manchester’s Albert Square. The queen is expected to meet victims at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Twelve children under the age of 16 were taken to the hospital by ambulance following Monday night’s attack, which saw 22 people in total killed and dozens more injured. ___ 11: 40 a.m. A German magazine reports that the Manchester concert bomber passed through Duesseldorf airport four days before the attack. Citing unnamed federal security sources, Focus reports that British-born Salman Abedi twice flew from a German airport in recent years and wasn’t on any international watch list. A German security official told The Associated Press on Thursday the report was accurate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadn’t been cleared for public release. Focus reported that German authorities are now trying to determine whether Abedi had contact with Islamic extremists in Germany before flying to Manchester last week. It says he previously flew from Frankfurt to Britain in 2015. The magazine also reports that British police informed their German counterparts Abedi had received paramilitary training in Syria. -By Frank Jordans in Berlin ___ 11: 25 a.m. British Prime Minister Theresa May says progress is being made in the Manchester bombing investigation but the national threat level remains critical – meaning another attack may be imminent. Speaking after a meeting of the government’s COBRA crisis committee, May said “the public should remain vigilant.” May said eight suspects are in custody and “progress is being made.” The threat level for Britain was raised to its highest level after bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people at a concert Monday night at Manchester Arena. Police say he was part of a network and they are racing to track down his links.
