LONDON—Kelly Brewster was an avid concertgoer, a “very smart, funny lady with a heart of gold,” according to her friend Payton Williams, and a hero.

Brewster attended the Ariana Grande show at the Manchester Arena on Monday night with her sister, Claire Booth, 34, and Booth’s 11-year-old daughter, Hollie. Relatives said Brewster, 32, from Sheffield, died trying to shield them from the blast of the suicide bomber. Hollie’s legs were broken, her mother’s jaw was broken, and both suffered wounds from shrapnel, including embedded bolts in their bodies, the Guardian reported.

At least 22 people were killed at the concert in Manchester in an apparent suicide attack after the event ended. Authorities said at least 59 people were injured. Victims’ names haven’t officially been made public, but four have been identified locally.

The first named fatality in the attack was Georgina “Gina” Callander, an 18-year-old college student studying health and social care.

The day before she died, she responded to a post from Grande, tweeting, “SO EXCITED TO SEE U TOMORROW.”

Callander was a massive Grande fan. She had met the pop singer in 2015 and posted a photo of the two of them on social media. At the time, she wrote, “I can’t believe this happened.”







Saffie Rose Roussos, an 8-year-old, was among the youngest victims. Pictures of the smiling youngster were featured in many British news outlets.

Saffie is the youngest victim to have been identified. The elementary school student was at the concert with mother Lisa and older sister Ashlee, who are reportedly being treated for shrapnel injuries in separate hospitals.

She was “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word,” Chris Upton, the principal of Tarleton Community Primary School, said in a statement.

Saffie was “loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly,” he said, adding that “Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.”

According to the Daily Telegraph, her parents are thought to run a fish-and-chip shop.

The Manchester Evening News identified another victim, John Atkinson, 26, from Radcliffe, a town in the Manchester area. Friends also paid tribute on a crowdfunding page set up to help with Atkinson’s funeral costs.

Facebook user Nayomie Louize updated her profile picture to one of her and Atkinson and invited people to join her at a gathering on Tuesday evening in honour of her late friend.

“Come with balloons, lanterns, candles to be set off in loving memory of our beautiful beloved friend and family member,” she wrote.

Natalie Dalton, a contributor, wrote on the page: “Absolutely devastated. What a great caring gentleman you was. Fly high mate. You will be missed by many xxxx”

Callander’s former school posted a picture of her on its website and described her as popular and active within the school.

“Georgina was a lovely young student who was very popular with her peers and the staff and always made the most of the opportunities she had at the school,” said the Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy in Croston, about 50 kilometres northwest of Manchester.

Her friend Shelby Wharton, 17, described her as “kind and loving.”

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“We were all praying for her to be found safely. Then we were told she had passed away,” Shelby told London’s Evening Standard newspaper.

Once Upon a Time actress Karen David met Callander for a few minutes a few weeks ago in Blackpool, England, but the embrace is ingrained in her memory.

The encounter happened a few weeks ago after the “bubbly” young woman walked up to Toronto-raised David with a plan. She’d travelled to a fan expo in Blackpool to meet the cast members of her beloved fantasy TV series, but she was missing a photograph alongside David, who plays Princess Jasmine.

An explosion struck an Ariana Grande concert attended by thousands of young music fans in Manchester, northern England, killing at least 22 people and injuring dozens in what police said was being treated as a terrorist attack.

“She wanted to do a hug photo,” recalled David, who gave her fan a hearty squeeze and signed the photo: “Lady Georgina. Love Karen David xx”

“I just thought it can’t be,” David said. “She was only tweeting me the other day.”

Scrolling through her Twitter direct messages, David discovered some unanswered notes sent by Callander last week. David hadn’t spotted them in the flurry of other messages from fans.

“(She was) talking about how she really enjoyed meeting me, and that she’d love to get some advice on having the courage to follow your dreams,” David said. “I felt so horrible because obviously I was a week too late.”

Hoping to pay tribute in a way that Callander would appreciate, David took to her Facebook page and shared a message.

“It’s not fair, it’s not right. It makes me so angry and it breaks my heart that such a young and promising life has been stolen away,” David wrote.

“But I refuse to give in to hatred. I continue to choose love. I continue to choose unity because when we join together, we are strong! We will not be afraid. Dearest Georgina, may your kind soul rest in peace. Heaven has gained an angel.”

David hopes that isn’t the end of Lady Georgina’s story. She says the cast of Once Upon a Time is discussing a larger tribute to victims in Manchester that could involve a charitable donation.

But as those plans take shape, David is reflecting on how a meet-and-greet left an unexpected effect on her life.

“You remember these faces,” she said.

Meanwhile, parents and friends on Tuesday were still frantically issuing missing-person pleas. Many of those who remain unaccounted for are teenagers.