"The attacker, I can confirm, died at the arena. We believe the attacker was carrying an improvised explosive device, which he detonated, causing this atrocity," said Chief Constable Ian Hopkins.
While police believe the suspect was acting alone, investigations are ongoing to establish if he was part of a network.
As many as 400 police were deployed overnight, Hopkins said early Tuesday. He added that residents should expect to see more armed officers on the streets.
If confirmed as a terror incident, it would be the deadliest attack on British soil since the 2005 London bombings, which killed 52 people.
How it happened
As concertgoers -- many of them young fans of the singer -- were beginning to leave the arena after Grande's closing set, an explosion rocked the area. Confusion followed as people fled in search of safety, and the sound of wailing sirens soon cut through the smoky air outside the arena.
The incident happened shortly after Grande had left the stage, according to eyewitnesses. Calvin Welsford, an 18-year-old concertgoer, said he heard a "loud bang" a couple of minutes after Grande's set had finished.
The incident happened shortly after Grande had left the stage, according to eyewitnesses. Calvin Welsford, an 18-year-old concertgoer, said he heard a "loud bang" a couple of minutes after Grande's set had finished.
"Ariana was off the stage, she'd finished her set," he said. "I looked around because I heard this big bang, people screaming and crying and flooded towards the stage."
Social media posts from the scene showed panicked concertgoers running down the arena's stairs in an attempt to get away.
The city's Manchester Royal Infirmary Hospital was blocked off to all but essential staff due to what the facility called a major incident.
Grande, who had just finished the first of three scheduled UK performances when the blast hit, was not injured. She tweeted several hours later: "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words."
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