And that is the explosion at the Manchester Arena tonight in the uk. More video is coming on to social media. And as the night draws on, im sure well get more imagery. But youve probably become familiar by now with this. One of the first clips of video we saw. It happened just after the lights went up, just after the last note. And Ariana Grande went backstage. Thats when people heard and felt a concussion outside. Still, some discussion as to whether or not there was just one or more explosions. Weve been what, three hours of coverage with sporadic reports, including by this network that this was a suicide bomber, outside on a kind of level that connects the train station to the venue. Lets go first to the police briefing. Manchester Police Department. Someone has just stepped to the microphones. Around 10 33 p. M. , we received reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena in the city center. This was at the conclusion of Ariana Grande concert. Currently we have 19 people confirmed to have lost their lives in the explosion, and around 50 casualties that have been treated at six hospitals across Greater Manchester. My thoughts are very much with those that have been injured and lost their lives and their loved ones at this terrible time. We are doing all that we can to support them. Officers from Greater Manchester police and Emergency Services are working at the scene and are supporting those affected. We are coordinating the operation here at Greater Manchester police headquarters. An emergency number is available for all those concerned about their loved ones or anyone who may have been in the area. The number 01618569400. We are currently treating this as a terrorist incident until we have further information. Were working closely with National Counterterrorism policing network and uk intelligence partners. This is clearly a very concerning time for everyone. Were doing all that we can working with local and National Agencies to support those affected. As we gather information about what happened last night. As youll understand, we are still receiving information and updates. So well provide further detail when we have a clearer picture. I want to thank people for their support and ask them to remain vigilant. And if they have any concerns at all, to report them to the National Antiterrorist hotline. The number is 0800789321. It is important also that people in manchester avoid the area around Manchester Arena so that Emergency Services can continue to effectively deal with the incident at that location. Thank you very much. That was the chief constable with the Greater ManchesterPolice Department. And that, as you heard him say, will be the only official statement. It is the First Official on camera statement by the Police Department in Greater Manchester after this tragedy that youre seeing unfold over and over again as these various views of it come in from social media. Kelly cobiella, our correspondent in our london bure has been cerin since the first word that something had gone wrong tonight in manchester. Kelly . Yeah, brian, and we first learned of this at about 10 30 local time. We were seeing reports on social media of some sort of explosion possibly at the Ariana Grande concert in manchester. And there was a lot of confusion at that point just in those first few minutes, several minutes or so. Reports on social media saying maybe it was something inside the concert venue, outside the concert venue. It was very unclear. Then we started seeing some of these videos pop up, including one taken from a dash cam outside of the arena. And im not sure if we have that available. But in this dash cam video, you can actually hear the sound of an explosion, and you see a bright flash. Even at this point. It wasnt very clear whether or not what was happening. Was this an equipment malfunction or was it something much more sinister as we now have learned, possibly a suicide bomber. There were eyewitness reports of just absolute chaos at that arena as these young people tried to get out. This is Ariana Grande. She has a huge young fan base. This concert hall holds about 21,000 people. So it would have been a massive crush for the exits. There were reports initially of people with cuts, with bloody faces, it wasnt clear whether they were some sort of explosive injuries or if they had been injured trying to get out of the arena. We later learned from some paramedics, volunteer First Responders on the scene that they were treating shrapnellike injuries. And weve also heard subsequently from a number of eyewitnesses that this was in fact an explosion. One witness telling local media here that he was there to pick up his wife and daughter who had been at the concert. The concert had just finished. People were coming out. He was approaching the arena. He said he was fairly close to the blast, and that it threw him back 30 feet. When he came to, he said that he just saw carnage, bodies. So that gives you a sense of what it was like outside this concert hall. Still a very active scene. Manchester police have cordoned off that area. Its right next to a very central train station, the victoria train station actually covers part of that train station, which was recently renovated. And so all of that area in central manchester, Greater Manchester being the second biggest city in this country. Very center of this city tonight closed off as Police Continue this investigation. And just one more note for you, brian, we are hearing from multiple senior u. S. Law enforcement officials. Theyre saying they have been briefed by their counterparts in the uk, and that the belief is that this was in fact a suicide bomber, and that they have identified him already. No word on the id. But based on forensic evidence at the scene there, they have a good idea of who this is. Brian . All right, Kelly Cobiella from our london bureau, bringing us right up to the minute there. Our justice correspondent Pete Williams is also looking into this all evening long on this side of the atlantic in our washington bureau. Pete, what have you learned . Well, a couple of points here, brian. Its been roughly four and a half hours since this happened. And the casualty numbers really havent changed much in the last three hours or so, which i suppose is a good sign that theyre not going to get worse. Now, we dont know of the 50 or so injured how severe their injuries are, weather some of them are in critical condition, and that number of People Killed could change. But it hasnt changed in the last couple of hours. The attack happened roughly you heard the constable say they got the call at 10 33. We are told by witnesses this is about 10 minutes after the concert ended. And people were already starting to file out that is the key point. The authorities tell us that they believe the suicide bomber was outside the venue, outside the concert hall, near the box office. Now if thats the case, based on a map of the concert venue, that would be near the train station, near the Manchester Victoria train station, which is immediately adjacent to the arena. The train station is the building where you see the letter a and arena. Its that building just below the er in manchester. Thats the big train station there. If it was at the box office, its right near the train station as well which would indicate why the train station has been closed since just after this happened. You heard kelly say that the initial indication is they believe its a suicide bomber thats from the forensic evidence that they have found at the scene. We have been told, as she said by both u. S. And uk authorities that the uk authorities believe they have identified the suspected bomber. Now, of course, that immediately sets a very urgent chain of investigation going. Who is that person in contact with. They will immediately try to look at that persons telephone calls, computer messages, because they not only for the sake of the case to close out who did it, but they want to know if anyone else is involved. If any other people are planning similar attacks. Was this person operating on his own . Was he part of a larger cell . Thats the critical question for uk authorities tonight. And they are a very aggressively working that, based on their tentative identification. They will of course try to trace anything that they can that was used to make the bomb, try to see where those components came from, and that will be another line of inquiry for them. But seeing if that person was connected to anybody else, whether they uncover a larger terror plot, thats a very key question. We heard some earlier evening some controlled explosions around the area as the Police Search the area for suspicious packages. None of those turned out to be hazardous items. And the only other thing that i would say here in terms of the response in the u. S. , the department of Homeland Security has put out a statement saying that u. S. Citizens in that area should follow the directions of the local authorities. But here at home they say we have no information to indicate a specific credible threat involving music venues in the u. S. , but, homeland says, the public may see increased security in and around Public Places and events as officials take additional precautions. Were told that theyre not giving any directions to Law Enforcement officials in the u. S. To do anything differently. Nonetheless, nypd has done what it normally does. When ever there is an attack anywhere in the world, without waiting to be told, they immediately beef up their presence at public place, in times square, at train stations. And outside Yankee Stadium where there is a baseball game tonight, they know of no were tloeld are no music concerts in the new york city area. As you know, broadway is usually dark on monday nights, no performances. No other large public gatherings. We havent heard of any other cities doing something similar. Pete williams in our washington newsroom. Pete, thank you for all of that reporting. And apropos of our discussion about the nypd, lets bring in our next two guests. First of all, we have former Police Commissioner bill bratton. Were happy he was able to join us here in the studio tonight. Well also shawn henry former assistant director of the fbi. Commissioner bratton, i was thinking of you tonight, looking at antiterrorism squads deployed in new york city in just the last three hours. What is without giving away the store, kind of the procedure when Something Like this happens in an overseas capital . Fortunately, the relationships between particularly the British Police services and those here in new york are extraordinarily close and intimate. Dont you have people in london . There is a fulltime detective there, another in euro pol, several in france. So information coming quickly from that source as well as relationships that my predecessor has the ability to call. The commission of the metropolitan police london. In this case, paul fahey, the chief constable in manchester there are relationship theres that allow for intimacy of exchange of information. What new york city started doing very quickly, at any given time they have several hundred officers and the new units we created, critical response, counterterrorism, and 800 person unit strategically Response Group which polices large demonstration, all equipped with long guns and the appropriate gear. The department has brought in a lot more dogs. Theyre constantly expanding the paperweight dog program. So youll see tonight in new york city, subway station, down Madison Square garden, whether or not theyre open tonight, over in brooklyn, the stadium there. Yankee stadium certainly where there is a game tonight that a lot of additional coverage out of caution. There is no information that the nypd is working with tonight. Or u. S. Police services of any known threat directed at anything in the United States at this moment in terms of the issue in england, england has the significant problem of about 500 fighters have been known to return from syria and are back in england. And they are certainly a significant concern. These are people who went and fought in syria, picked up all types of skills and theyre now back. Thats in addition to the many hundreds if not thousands that are always concerned with over there in any event. So in terms of whether there was any Early Warning about this event, thats something that well look to be determined over the next course of hours as the investigation goes forward. How do you keep a place like times square safe . In just the past few day, to use the terminology of the nypd, we had an edp, an emotionally disturbed person, driving a vehicle. Probably they say under the influence of something. Just plowing through innocent civilians. People i think have more Situational Awareness when theyre here in new york and in big metropolitan areas. But how do you keep such a place safe . The main thrust is to try to prevent before the fact. The idea that the nypd under my predecessor ray kelly created an extraordinary intelligence gathering capability. Also thousand personnel assigned to the intelligence counterterrorism function. During my time, the additional 1300 uniformed officers that we put in very specifically to deal with the isis threat, the idea of the lone wolf. Has extraordinary capabilities to try to identify a threat before it occurs. More than two dozen have been thwarted since 9 11 that were aware of. The idea is you cant protect everywhere against everything. Thats the reality of it. Quite frankly, Law Enforcement was just amazed over these many years that we dont have more incidents than we do. And whether thats good luck or the fact that we are able to prevent so many of them we really dont know. But the threat situation is what we reinforce with the message to the public. Be aware. But dont live in fear. Because the reality is as many of these incidents that are occurring, the likelihood of it still happening to you individually, the odds are still in your favor. But as we see here in manchester, and with increasing freaksly, that is the concern, these events increasing in frequency. Yeah. And we dont see that lessening at all going forward. Commissioner and shawn, please stand by one moment. Weve been able to make contact with Elaine Wilcox with itv in the uk. She is live in manchester, and has been able to join us via facetime tonight. Elaine, tell whats you see and tell whats you have seen. Yes, you join me in the center of manchester. Intense Police Activity here some hours after this explosion. This was a targeted explosion on concert in the heart of manchester. We understand Ariana Grande was performing. A sellout packed concert in the Manchester Arena, a very well established concert hall in manchester. At about 10 35 our time we understand there was reports of an explosion. Chaotic, terrifying scenes as the performer had just left stage. Ariana grande was safe. She just left stage. People were making their way to the exits, and there was this loud explosion. Very, very sad news tonight that police have confirmed that 19 people have died, and upwards of 50 people have been injured, and the police have confirmed they are treating this as a terrorist incident. A targeted attack on a concert in the heart of manchester. A concert which was packed full of families and young people. Chaotic scenes. People desperately trying to escape from the terrifying scenes. People describing that explosion. Nuts and bolts goi off in that explosion. Very, very confused picture. Early reports suggest this was some kind of improvised explosion. But 19 people confirmed dead. Upwards of 50 people injured. And this targeted attack on a concert in manchester. Elaine willcox with itv, thanks very much for being with us from there tonight. Back here in our studio in new york, shawn henry, formally of the fbi. I was trying to find a way to describe this situation in man chester to an american audience. Best i can come up with is if youve been to penn station in new york, on top of it sits Madison Square garden. The Manchester Arena was built similarly in using the air rights over their old victoria train station. And there is a level when you come up on the escalators with a box office, that kind of thing where there is always an event coming or going, and trains arriving and departing. The question to you, this is one big sadly, one big soft target. Do you think it was intentional there . Do you think this was a thwarted effort of someone to gain access to the concert . Well, you know, only the investigation is going to tell us, brian, and thats going to take over the next days and possibly weeks. We know that terrorist organizations have targeted these soft targets. Concert venue, stadiums, and transportation venues. In this particular situation the way you have described it, its not clear what was being targeted, if somebody was perhaps being approached. Maybe they were walking down into the subway system. They saw a police office