The bombing at a Manchester concert on Monday night claimed the lives of 22 people, many of them teenagers and their parents. They left behind many fond memories for their friends and family.
LONDON (AP) – The bombing at a Manchester concert on Monday night claimed the lives of 22 people, many of them teenagers and their parents. They left behind many fond memories for their friends and family. ___ Scottish schoolgirl Eilidh MacLeod loved music, from listening to Ariana Grande to playing the bagpipes with her band. Her family said the 14-year-old, from the Scottish island of Barra, was “vivacious and full of fun.” Eilidh had attended the concert with her friend Laura MacIntyre, 15, who was seriously injured and remains in the hospital. Their head teacher at Castlebay Community School said the attack had left the island community feeling numb from shock. ___ Courtney Boyle was at the concert with her step-dad Philip Tron, described by his family as a man with an infectious laugh, when both lost their lives. In a statement, the girl’s boyfriend called her his soulmate, “an adventurer, a precious and joyous soul.” Her father said: “I am going to miss my baby girl Courtney Boyle for the rest of my life.” ___ Chloe Rutherford, 17, and her boyfriend Liam Curry, 19, were described as a perfect couple who “wanted to be together forever” – and now they are, their families said. The families said Chloe, who described herself as ditzy, was adored by Liam, who was a keen cricket player and was studying sport and exercise science at Northumbria University. In a statement, the relatives said: “On the night our daughter Chloe died and our son Liam died, their wings were ready but our hearts were not.” ___ Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, wanted to be an architect and go to Columbia University in New York when she grew up. On the night of the blast, her grandparents and mother had gone to Manchester Arena to pick her up. In a statement, her grandfather said his wife, Pauline, is in intensive care, while Sorrell’s mother Samantha is recovering from surgery as she tries to make sense of her loss. The family said Sorrell wanted to study architecture to build hotels “with slides coming out of the rooms, ” and so she could “build her mum a house.” ___ Elaine McIver, a policewoman, always urged those she knew not to be cowed by fear tactics. McIver, who served with Cheshire Police, was at the concert with her partner, Paul, who was wounded in the deadly explosion. British media reported that her two children were also there and were also hurt. 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.” ___ Michelle Kiss was a mother of three children, a loving wife, sister and daughter – and “family was her life, ” her loved ones say. In a statement, her family said: “She has been taken away from us and all that love her in the most traumatic way imaginable.” The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that Kiss attended Monday’s concert with her daughter, who was reported to be safe and was photographed being hugged by a police officer. Her family said: “We hope to draw from the courage and strength she showed in her life to get through this extremely difficult time.” ___ Jane Tweddle, a school receptionist, had reportedly gone to Manchester with a friend to pick up the friend’s daughter, who was attending the Ariana Grande concert. The South Shore Academy in the northern English seaside town of Blackpool, where she worked, said tributes had poured in from parents, students and colleagues describing Tweddle as “bubbly, kind, welcoming, funny, generous.” She said the mother of three daughters was “irreplaceable, much loved and will never be forgotten.” ___ Teenager Nell Jones, who went to a school in the village of Holmes Chapel, south of Manchester, was described by a teacher as “a very popular girl, always smiling, always positive.” Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and Sixth Form College said police had confirmed Nell died at the scene of the bombing. Head teacher Denis Oliver said in a statement Wednesday that the school community was devastated by the news, and her schoolmates felt like “they have lost a sister not a classmate.” Oliver also confirmed that another Year 9 student, Freya Lewis, was badly injured in the attack and needed 10½ hours of surgery. Freya’s father, Nick Lewis, said: “Freya has been sewn, bolted, drilled and bandaged back together. It is going to be a long climb but we are on the first step.” ___ Martyn Hett, reported to be 29, was a PR manager who “loved life and celebrated it every day, ” his employer said. Hett had appeared on the reality TV shows “Tattoo Fixers” and “Come Dine With Me.” His employer, Rumpus, said on its website that Hett had packed life “to the brim with his passions.” The company says “he was taken from this world too soon, by forces we will never truly understand.” ___ Teenager Olivia Campbell-Hardy, who went to a school near Manchester, was at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester with a friend who has since undergone surgery to treat injuries sustained in the explosion. Her mother, Charlotte Campbell, who had been appealing desperately for news of Olivia online, wrote in a Facebook post early Wednesday: “RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far too soon, go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much.” In a vigil Wednesday, she tearfully asked those attending not to let the atrocity “beat any of us.” Tottington High School in the town of Bury said the school community was “absolutely devastated and heartbroken.” ___ Saffie Roussos, 8, is the youngest victim identified so far. The schoolgirl had been at the concert with her mother, Lisa Roussos, and sister, Ashlee Bromwich, in her 20s, from Leyland, Lancashire. They are both now in separate hospitals being treated for injuries, friends said. In a statement, the head teacher of the Tarleton Community Primary School that she attended in the village of Tarleton, Lancashire, described her as “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.” The head teacher, Chris Upton, said her death was “a tremendous shock to all of us.” ”The thought that anyone could go out to a concert and not come home is heartbreaking, ” he said.
