Man arrested for wearing ‘offensive’ Manchester Arena bomber costume for Halloween

A man was arrested after dressing as Manchester Arena bomber for Halloween.

Salman Abedi killed 22 people along with himself when he detonated a bomb in the foyer of the Manchester Arena at an Ariana Grande concert on 22nd May, 2017.

The costume worn by the man, named by The Sun as David Wootton, included a keffiyeh, the traditional headdress worn by men from parts of the Middle East, as well as a T-shirt reading “I love Ariana Grande”. He also created a black rucksack with “Boom” and “TNT” written across the front.

Pictures of himself were shared on social media, with a caption reading “Bet I get kicked out of the Halloween party.”, The Sun reports.

via Facebook

After friends on Facebook urged him to take the post down down he added: “Only went and won the best costume.”

This led to North Yorkshire Police receiving numerous complaints about the wearer of the “offensive costume”.

Wooton, aged 40, was arrested on 1st November, where North Yorkshire Police said he was held on “suspicion of a number of offences” including sending offensive messages.

via Facebook

In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said: “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 was arrested on November 1st on suspicion of a number of offences including using a public communication network to send offensive messages.”

He has since been released on conditional police bail to allow for further enquiries to be carried out.

Featured image via Facebook.

Related articles recommended by the writer:

• Manchester University’s Alan Gilbert building painted orange by Just Stop Oil protesters
• Planning application submitted for redevelopment of Fallowfield campus
• Warnings issued in Manchester after circulation of super strength MDMA pills