Boston journalist sparks fury by posting vile Twitter joke within hours of terrorist attack which killed 19 and injured 50 at singer's Manchester conc

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[h=1]Boston journalist sparks fury by posting vile Twitter joke within hours of terrorist attack which killed 19 and injured 50 at singer's Manchester concert[/h]

• Freelance journalist David Leavitt took to Twitter after the attack on Monday, noting there had been 'multiple fatalities' at the concert
• He wrote: 'Last time I listened to Ariana Grande I almost died too'
• Leavitt, who claims to write for CBS and Yahoo, was inundated with complaints
• He carried on his joke, asking: 'Too soon?' before finally apologizing
• At least 19 people have died and 50 are injured after the explosion in Manchester
• The crowd was made up largely of young girls and boys, some of whom are aged just six

 

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A Boston journalist has been slammed for a vile joke about a terrorist attack which killed 19 people and injured 50 at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday night.
A 7pm EST, as the first reports of the atrocity emerged, Boston-based journalist David Leavitt took to Twitter to write: 'Multiple confirmed fatalities at Manchester Arena. The last time I listened to Ariana Grande I almost died too.'
'Honestly, for over a year I thought Ariana Grande was something you ordered at Starbucks,' he continued, oblivious to the insensitivity of his first tweet.
Leavitt, who used to write guide to Boston on a freelance basis for CBS, was immediately inundated with complaints from outraged Twitter users who labeled him a 'vile scumbag' and called for him to never work again.

CBS freelance writer David Leavitt posted this vile tweet on Monday night within hours of a terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester which has left 19 dead and 50 injured

 

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At least 19 people died and 50 were injured in an explosion at Manchester Arena on Monday night after the singer left the stage. Above, one survivor is led away from the scene by police

Unrepentant, he replied to them: 'Too soon?' and even boasted receiving a notification from the micro-blogging site to notify him of the surge in attention his profile was suddenly receiving.
Among those to slam him were journalists from CBC alongside members of the public.
An hour and 45 minutes after his first tweet, he apologized.

 

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'Sorry 4 offending. Didn't realize the magnitude of the tragedy. I always make stupid jokes about whatevers (sic) trending. Condolences 2 families,' he told his 60,000 followers.
CBS publicly distanced itself from him last year after he sparked controversy by tweeting: 'Trump died sleeping', claiming those three words would calm him down.
They were quick to clear up the fact that despite his claims, he does not work for the company on Monday.


'David Leavitt is not a WBZ employee. His abhorrent comments in no way represent the views of our station,' a tweet from the company's Boston affiliate, WBZ, read.

Instead of apologizing, he doubled down on his jokes, posting another (which he had made before) about how he thought Grande was 'something you ordered at Starbucks'

 

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Leavitt then boasted about all the notifications he was receiving from outraged followers

 

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Despite being inundated with complaints from horrified followers, he carried on

 

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Eventually, an hour and 45 minutes after his first tweet, Leavitt apologized and said he 'always makes stupid jokes about whatever's trending'

 

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Leavitt eventually apologized, saying he 'always' made jokes about 'whatever is trending

 

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AXS, another outlet which he claimed to have worked for, labeled the comments 'despicable'.
'This person is not employed by AXS. We don't endorse this despicable comment.'
Leavitt previously wrote Boston-based guides including 'Boston's Best Skate Parks' and 'Best Place for Outdoor Yoga' for the network's website. He describes himself as a gaming specialist.



Leavitt did not respond to DailyMail.com's requests on Monday night. Instead, he carried on tweeting about how he'd never become a vegan and losing his internet connection.
British police have categorized Monday's incident a terrorist attack.
Sources say it was carried out by a suicide bomber. Witnesses described 'nuts and bolts' flying, suggesting it was a nail bomb that was detonated.
Frantic video footage showed the crowd, which was mostly made up of teenage girls, running for their lives immediately afterwards.
Some were momentarily adopted by adults and taken to nearby hotels to wait for their petrified parents to arrive to collect them.
Grande, who had just left the stage, was in 'hysterics' after the show. She is not hurt but is now considering postponing her London show in light of the atrocity, sources told TMZ.
There was a huge rush of police and ambulances to the arena.
Some concert-goers were seen being consoled by strangers as they sat on the pavement, reeling from the shock of the attack.

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There was a sudden rush of ambulances and police cars to Manchester Arena on Monday

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British emergency responders carry some of the victims out on stretchers

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A woman is comforted by police as she tends to one of the victims hurt in the attack

 

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[h=1]First victim of Manchester terror attack is named as girl, 18, who tweeted Ariana Grande hours before concert and told her: 'So excited to see you tomorrow'[/h]

• Georgina Callander, 18, has been named as the first victim of the terror attack at a Manchester Arena concert
• She was one of 22 people killed when attacker set off an explosive device at the end of Ariana Grande show
• A further 59 people injured by the suicide bomber, in what is Britain's worst terror attack since 7/7 bombings
• Georgina had tweeted US singer on Sunday saying how excited she was to see her, and met her two years ago

 

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Smiling in the arms of her pop idol, this is the first victim of the Manchester terror attack who was killed along with 21 others - including children - when a suicide bomber targeted a packed Ariana Grande concert.
Sixth form student Georgina Callander, 18, died when a lone attacker detonated an explosive device as thousands of youngsters were leaving Manchester Arena last night.
She had posted a picture of herself with the US singer at the same venue two years ago, captioning it: 'My meet and greet photos came through, she was so cute and lovely, I hugged her so tight and she said she loved my bow. I can't get over this, I never will.'
In a follow up message after meeting Ariana Grande backstage on June 4, 2015, Georgina wrote: 'After 6 years of waiting I finally got to meet and see my love. I am so happy right now. Hands down the best concert of my life.'
On Sunday the teenager, from Chorley in Lancashire, tweeted the pop star, writing: 'SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU TOMORROW.' She was a student at Runshaw College studying health and social care.

 

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The first victim of the Manchester terror attack has been named locally as 18-year-old Georgina Callander. She is pictured with Ariana Grande two years ago

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The first victim of the Manchester terror attack has been named locally as 18-year-old Georgina Callander (pictured)

Georgina had tweeted the US pop singer Ariana Grande on Sunday evening, writing: 'So excited to see u tomorrow'

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Friends tweeted tributes to Georgina (pictured left in the main image), with one writing that her 'heart is truly shattered'

A close friend told the Evening Standard Georgina died in hospital with her mother at her bedside in hospital.
Friends paid tribute to her on social media, with one writing: 'Rest in peace Gina. I love you so incredibly much, you deserved the world & more. I'm so lucky to have met you and known you.'
Another tweeted: 'A beautiful girl with the kindest heart & soul, I'll miss you forever, may you rest in a better place than here. I love you.'

 

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Georgina was described as 'the sweetest person you will ever meet' by one friend, with another tweeting that she was 'shattered' by the news.
Another friend wrote: 'Rest in peace one of the most kind and beautiful people I've ever had the pleasure of calling a friend.'
Others described Georgina as a 'ray of sunshine.'
Actor Sean Maguire also took to Twitter to pay his respects to the 'young and sweet' teenager, writing: 'Just met this girl in April.

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Georgina was one of the 22 people killed when an attacker set off an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert

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'She was killed last night in Manchester. My love to her and all the families of the victims.'
At least 22 people - including children - died and 59 more were injured after a suicide bomber targeted youngsters in Britain's worst terror attack since 7/7.
Witnesses told of nuts and bolts tearing into young gig-goers when the blast was detonated in the foyer area between the arena and the next-door Victoria station after the Ariana Grande performance ended.
The bomb went off just after the end of the concert at a time parents were leaving with their children and other mothers and fathers were arriving to pick up groups of youngsters.

 

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Actor Sean Maguire took to Twitter to pay his respects to the 'young and sweet' teenager, writing: 'Just met this girl in April

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Police this morning confirmed that the suicide bomber died inside the arena after an improvised explosive device was detonated.
As the explosion tore through the lobby, terrified youngsters stampeded for the sold-out 21,000-seater stadium's exits in horrifying scenes caught on mobile phone cameras. Witnesses described the carnage as being 'like a war zone'.
Terrified parents and children are now trying to find missing family members they lost contact with when the bomb went off.
One eyewitness told MailOnline she saw a young girl screaming 'I don't know where my sister is' while she sprinted out of the venue.

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This distressing picture purportedly shows the inside of the arena after the suicide attack at the Ariana Grande concert - its veracity has been confirmed by the two witnesses

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Casualties are stretchered out of the concert on Monday evening after a terror attack in the Ariana Grande concert

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Concert-goers and witnesses have described the chaos after 'huge bomb-like bangs' went off in Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande gig

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A father carries away his daughter away following the terror attack at the Manchester concert

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This graphic shows where the explosion took place, in the foyer area, leading towards Victoria railway station


Read more:

• Manchester attack: First victim of suicide bomber named as teenager Georgina Callander | London Evening Standard

 

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[h=2]'People's skin and blood were everywhere… I'm still finding bits of god knows what in my hair': Manchester Arena terror attack survivor tells of her horror[/h]

A terrified witness to the Manchester terror attack has described the horrific scene inside the arena and has said people's 'skin and blood were everywhere'. Abby Mullen (left), from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, was inside the arena where at least 22 people including children - died following the suspected lone wolf attack. Police this morning confirmed the suicide bomber died inside Manchester Arena after an improvised explosive device was detonated at the end of the Ariana Grande concert. Ms Mullen photographed her handbag (inset) and hair (right) after the attack. She said: 'As we were leaving a bomb or explosion went off centimetres in front of me. People's skin and blood were everywhere including in my hair and on my bag. I'm still finding bits of god knows what in my hair.'

 

[ScottL]

This breaks my heart and infuriates the fuck out of me.
And there is nothing I can do with these emotions as they only further my belief that we live in a godless universe.