The terrorist who killed 22 people by detonating a suicide bomb at Manchester Arena has been named Salman Abedi.
Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994 and is the second youngest of four children. He grew up in the Whalley Range area, close to a local girls’ high school.
It is the same school of twins and former star pupils, Zahra and Salma Halane, both formerly aspiring medical students, who left their homes and moved to Syria in 2015.
Abedi was reportedly a student at Salford University.
Dr Sam Grogan, the university’s Pro-Vice Chancellor Student Experience, said: “All at the University of Salford are shocked and saddened by the events of last night. Our thoughts are with all those involved, their families and their friends.
“We have provided, and continue to provide, support to all students and staff who have been affected.”
The suspect was named by US security services in Washington, who said he had been identified by British authorities.
School friends have revealed that Abedi was a keen Manchester United fan.
Abedi’s former school friend Leon Hall told MailOnline he saw the killer last year and said he had grown a beard.
Hall, 26, and Abedi lived close to each other in a row of run down terraced houses in the Moss Side area of Manchester.
They later ended up living next door to each other in a nearby street and went to the same school.
People living on the red-bricked semi-detached street said they knew little about those who reside at the address.
Those living close to Abedi told Mail Online he was recently heard “chanting Islamic prayers loudly in the street” outside his home.
His mum and dad Samia Tabbal, 50, and security officer father, Ramadan Abedi, apparently initially lived in London, before moving to Fallowfield, Manchester, at least 10 years ago.
They are believed to have fled to London before moving to south Manchester before Abedi was born in 1994.
Abedi reportedly lived at an address in Elsmore Road, Fallowfield, which police raided yesterday, ordering shocked residents indoors as they carried out a controlled explosion.