A Calgarian vacationing in Manchester is expressing her sadness and utter disbelief following a suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert in the northern English city on Monday that killed at least 22 people.
Simone Hodgkinson was born in Manchester and is currently in the city visiting family.
She woke up on Tuesday when friends began texting her to make sure she was OK.
“I didn’t even know what was happening – I was fast asleep in bed.”
“It’s horrible,” she said. “Just the fact there was so many children. It’s just so wrong on so many levels. It’s just so wrong.”
Hodgkinson said she and her family have been watching television to stay updated on the attack.
“I’ve got my children with me – who are crying and upset – and I’ve got my in-laws, and we’re just zombies.”
“It’s a little bit surreal. We’re here in Manchester, but we’re in the suburbs and we’ve spent all our time in the country and 30 minutes down the road is this carnage – and it’s really hard to think that it’s actually real,” she added.
“It’s hard to connect that as human beings, another human being would do such a thing. It’s just wrong.”
“There’s just a real fear, but then there’s the flip side of, no, the fear is not what we should be feeling … that’s how terrorism wins. So there is a real sense of solidarity and people joining together.”
“Everybody’s just in such shock,” she said. “Such sadness.
“Hearing the stories of the families – the moms and dads that were stood there outside the arena waiting to pick up their children – hearing their stories is just heartbreaking.”
The so-called Islamic State group (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
British police have arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the explosion.
Speaking outside of 10 Downing Street Tuesday morning, the British prime minister said the bombing was “among the worst terrorist incidents we have ever experienced in the United Kingdom.”
With files from Adam Frisk