From her beginning as an actor on Broadway, to her role on Nickelodeon, to her current status as a certifiable pop star, Ariana Grande has become an ingrained part of the modern American and International musical landscape. Her current Dangerous Woman tour has taken her across the country, and most recently, to Manchester, England.

Her show in Manchester on Monday, May 22 began as normal as any other show might. Fans young and old, male and female alike, streaming into the venue, all anxiously awaited their favorite singer to appear on the stage before them, and sing along to songs they knew by heart.

Unfortunately, this show in particular would not end in chants of “encore, encore” nor the light-hearted emotions one would expect at the end of a pop concert.

Towards the end of Ariana Grande’s show at the Manchester Arena, the sounds of explosions rattled the area. Injured, startled, and frantic concertgoers streamed out of the concert hall. Many rushing to locate friends and family, others trying to alert their loved ones of their situation. Police and first responders raced through the streets to help anyone who needed it, as well as begin the investigation into the heinous attacks as soon as possible.

As the news became more widespread, love, support, and compassion poured onto social media. Ariana Grande herself tweeted,

“broken. / from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”

By Tuesday morning, the death toll from the explosions would reach 22, and many more would be injured in varying degrees. The vast majority of the dead and injured were young children, teenagers, and chaperoning parents.

The prime suspect in the attack was a Manchester-born man by the name of Salman Abedi. Abedi was killed in the attack, but several arrests were made by British authorities in connection to the attack.  The Islamic State has taken responsibility for the planning of the attack.

What happened in Manchester was a tragedy that will sadly join the ranks of many other horrendous tragedies that we have lived through, and will come to encounter throughout our lives. We must remember to remain a compassionate and empathetic community while we deal with situations like the one that unfolded in Manchester.