Manchester bombing: Ariana Grande pays tribute to terror attack's youngest victim Saffie Roussos
Pop star pays respects on Twitter to eight-year-old superfan killed in suicide blast
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US pop star Ariana Grande has paid tribute to Saffie Roussos, the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing.
The eight-year-old was with her family when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a home-made device, killing 22 people including seven children.
Following a concert in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Grande tweeted: “Saffie, we're (thinking) of you baby” alongside a birthday cake emoji.
The youngster, from Leyland, Lancashire, would have celebrated her ninth birthday on 4 July.
To mark the occasion her family chose to speak out, paying tribute to Saffie and remembering how she had looked forward to the concert.
Her older sister, Ashlee Bromwich, said the super fan was “elated” as she watched her idol on perform on 22 May.
“She was Ariana Grande-obsessed, so to see how happy she was, it was just... obviously I had to go with her,” she told the BBC.
Her father, Andrew Roussos, said: “You couldn't be out with Saffie without having fun, but her dream was to be famous. It was her everything and we bought her the tickets for Christmas.
“She was just counting the days, the seconds and it was just Ariana Grande until nine, 10 o'clock at night. And she would sing and dance every single song.”
The explosion ripped through the arena foyer as thousands of fans, mostly young girls, left the venue following Grande's performance.
Mr Roussos, who said “all hell broke loose” after the bombing, was later told by a police detective that Saffie had died.
“We've lost everything. We have, we've lost everything, because life will just never be the same,” he said.
Press Association
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments