Officer breaks down in tears as mourners gather at vigils for bomb victims

A police officer amply demonstrated the ‘tender touch’ as the nation paid its respects to the 22 dead in the Manchester Arena bombing. The officer dabbed tears from his eyes with a tissue as hundreds gathered at a makeshift memorial for vigils in memory of the victims of suicide bomber Salman Abedi. Exactly one week on, people met at St Ann`s Square, which has become the site of hundreds of bouquets of flowers, balloons, scarves and hand-written notes honouring those killed on May 22. The vigils were heavily guarded by armed officers, one of whom broke down at the site of the flowers and well-wishers. Officers were seen placing bunches of flowers in the square as the crowd grew. A round of applause broke out after a member of the public shouted “thank you to the police and all the emergency services”. Scores of competitors from Sunday’s Great Manchester Run had left their race numbers at the scene, with tributes written on them. Manchester City and United scarves were seen in among the floral tributes, with ‘A City United’ written on them. As the bells of St Ann’s Church rang out at exactly 10.31pm – the time the bomb was set off – the crowd fell silent. Councillor Pat Karney, chair of the annual city celebration Manchester Day, said: “On this painful night, we were one family in Manchester. We were thinking about all the people who lost their lives and thinking about all the people in hospital. “But we also thought about the pain the families are going through. We were there for them tonight – and we’ll be there for them every night – because of the way their lives have changed. “Everyone in Manchester has been thinking about them. It’s an incredible painful time for the families remembering the circumstances around those hours and the agony they have gone through. “Manchester will get through. We’ll go through the pain and the grief. But the families, we want them to know we’ll be with them for as long as it takes.” Officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who raced to the scene at the arena were confronted by an horrific sight after Abedi detonated a nail bomb in the foyer of the indoor stadium as revellers left an Ariana Grande concert. Those who were first to respond – and colleagues who later joined them – also had to comfort children who had witnessed their parents suffering serious blast injuries. Many officers have already attended Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) sessions used by the army to help soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. In all, 14 men are now being questioned in connection with the investigation into the attack. More than 50 people are still being treated in hospital, with 19 patients in a critical condition, the NHS said.