Times West Virginian editorial
There are some places where you shouldn’t have to fear for your life.
A nightclub with your friends and loved ones, dancing away the stress from a long week.
A movie theater to watch the latest installment in the “Batman” franchise.
The concert of a teen pop sensation.
And yet those joyous gatherings, in Orlando, Florida, in Aurora, Colorado, in Manchester, England, all ended in tragedy as terror rained down and lives were taken because of hate.
In the hours after a bomb exploded in Manchester Monday night, just minutes after Ariana Grande finished her concert for the thousands of pre-teen and teen fans, the Islamic State claimed one of its “soldiers” carried out the deadly blast that killed at least 22 people.
Victims said the suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device that scattered nuts and bolts across the floor and in the vicinity. The bomb was placed for maximum death and carnage, officials say.
Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins confirmed that Salman Abedi was the man who placed a bomb in the concourse of the arena where Grande performed. The 22-year-old British man and son of Libyan immigrants died in the blast.
Also among the dead are teenagers. Many teenagers. And an 8-year-old girl.
There are 59 others injured, many in critical condition. None will ever be the same, even if they survive the injuries. There will still be scars.
We all carry scars from each terrorist attack, whether it be in New York or London or California. It steals our security, our freedom, our comfort. And that’s why the terrorists detonate bombs or fire assault weapons into crowds. It’s exactly what they want from us — fear, insecurity, panic.
British Prime Minister Theresa May asked her country not to focus on that. She said to focus on the memories of those lost and the ones who ran toward the carnage to help those injured or dying. Those are the people who represent “the spirit of Britain … a spirit that through years of conflict and terrorism has never been broken and will never be broken.”
She vowed: “The terrorists will never win and our values, our country and our way of life will always prevail.”
We pray for those who lost their lives, for their families who need comfort, for a country and a world whose people mourn.
And we pray that terror will be defeated.
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