A man has been arrested after allegedly dressing as Salman Abedi, the man behind the Manchester Arena terror attack, for Halloween.
The man, who is in his 40s, had reportedly dressed up in a costume that consisted of a headdress, a rucksack, and a t-shirt with a slogan referring to Ariana Grande.
The costume depicted the bomber Salman Abedi, who – aged 22 at the time – was responsible for the death of 22 innocent lives in the Manchester Arena attack on 22 May 2017.
His Halloween costume sparked outcry on social media and led to several complaints being made to the police.
North Yorkshire Police have now confirmed that a man has been arrested and released on conditional police bail while further enquiries are carried out.
ADVERTISEMENT
They said in a statement: “North Yorkshire Police can confirm that a man has been arrested after the force received complaints about a man wearing an offensive costume on social media, depicting murderer, Salman Abedi who killed 22 people at Manchester Arena.
“The man, who is aged in his 40s, was arrested on 1 November on suspicion of a number of offences including using a public communication network to send offensive messages.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He remains in police custody for questioning at this time.”
The 22 victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack
The atrocity at the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017, and claimed the lives of Alison Howe, Angelika Klis, Marcin Klis, Chloe Rutherford, Liam Curry, Courtney Boyle, Eilidh MacLeod, Elaine McIver, Georgina Bethany Callander, Jane Tweddle, John Atkinson, Kelly Brewster, Lisa Lees, Martyn Hakan Hett, Megan Joanne Hurley, Michelle Kiss, Nell Jones, Olivia Paige Campbell-Hardy, Philip Tron, Saffie-Rose Roussos, Sorrell Leczkowski, and Wendy Fawell.
The youngest victim, Saffie-Rose Roussos, was just eight years old.
ADVERTISEMENT
Their names have since been immortalised at the Glade of Light memorial in Manchester city centre, where they have been etched into a stone ‘halo’ that surrounds a beautiful garden.
Featured image: The Manc Group
News
AO Arena are hosting an ‘Evening 4’ Ricky Hatton in memory of the legendary Manchester boxer
Danny Jones
Manchester is set to host a night of remembrance and celebration in honour of the late, great, local boxer, Ricky Hatton.
Coming this summer, the AO Arena – where Hatton enjoyed so many of his iconic moments – will be holding the first-ever ‘Evening4Ricky’ later this year.
Held at the legendary sports and live entertainment venue just in time for summer, we still know very little about what the actual event will entail.
Sharing the news on social media, AO Arena said: “Join us for an unforgettable night of entertainment as Manchester comes together for Evening4Ricky.
“This will be a spectacular, unique celebration of the life, spirit and legacy of one of the city’s most beloved icons – Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.”
With seats priced at £25, fans are being encouraged to join the early bird sign-up to secure access to discounted tickets.
They go on to add: “Hosted at the legendary AO Arena, home to so many of Ricky’s big fights, featuring a superstar cast of legends from the worlds of boxing, music, comedy and entertainment.”
So, we do at least know there’ll be some famous faces coming along to help make it a memorable Manc moment, just a few months on from the city and beyond uniting for his public funeral procession.
Ricky was beloved not only by the Greater Manchester community but was a popular figure and friend to many in the sporting and showbiz industries.
The homegrown ‘Pride of Hyde‘ tragically left us on 14 September 2025 at the age of just 46, but his passing has once again helped reassert the importance of having more conversations around wellbeing, suicide prevention, and most specifically, men’s mental health.
You can find more information and see how to grab tickets right HERE.
This isn’t the only charitable in memoriam event happening across the region in the coming weeks, either, as Mancs will be gathering to pay tribute to another fellow inspiring sportsman.
Man jailed for stalking, strangling, and raping woman in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed this week for several offences including rape, strangulation and stalking while living in Manchester.
Jack-Leland Webster – previously Jack Malone – of Cedar Road, Earl Shilton in Leicester, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced yesterday (8 April 2026) after being found guilty of rape and strangulation, following pleaded guilty to stalking the victim at a previous hearing.
The incidents took place back in June2024, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained, when Webster had accused the victim of cheating with her ex-boyfriend.
The victim had been in communication with her ex after he had reached out to her to let her know he was ‘concerned’ after he found out that Webster had been impersonating him to message the victim and test her loyalty throughout their relationship.
As the victim attempted to exit the flat, Webster blocked the doorways to prevent her from leaving. He then proceeded to get on top of the victim and while he strangled her, said: “Don’t make me kill you. If you do, I’ll have to kill myself so we can be dead together,” before proceeding to sexually assault her.
While on bail, Webster purchased numerous fake social media accounts to follow and contact the victim, as well as her family and her friends, which was in breach of his no contact conditions. On one occasion, the victim was followed by over 100 accounts on a social media platform in a matter of seconds.
During police interviews, Webster denied all charges against him.
When an officer tried to arrange his second interview, Webster was described as being ‘obstructive’ and even told the officer to “pick me up from KFC” and “catch me if you can”.
“Webster showed no remorse throughout the investigation and treated it as a game,” GMP said following his sentencing.
As mentioned, Webster pleaded guilty to stalking before he went to trial, where a jury found him guilty of rape and strangulation. And then Wednesday 8 April 2026 at Manchester Crown Court, he was sentenced tonine years and five months in prison.
He has also been given an indefinite restraining order.
Daisy Jackson -
2nd November 2023 
