Car Hits Fans At Liverpool Parade; 27 Hospitalized

UK police rule out ‘terrorism’ and say they believe the driver, a 53-year-old man, acted alone.

A British man has been arrested after he drove his car into a crowd of Liverpool football fans celebrating their team’s Premier League victory, hospitalising some 27 people, including four children.

Police said they believe the “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area” acted alone in the car ramming in the city in northwest England on Monday.

They said the incident was not being investigated as an act of “terrorism”.

Some 20 people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, while ambulance officials said 27 people were taken to hospital.

One child and one adult were in a serious condition.

Four of the victims, including a child, were trapped under the van, and firefighters had to lift the vehicle to free them.

“We believe this to be an isolated incident, and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not being treated as terrorism,” temporary Deputy Chief Constable Jenny Sims told reporters.

‘Dark shadow’
Videos of the incident posted on social media showed a dark-coloured car swerving into the crowds in Liverpool at the end of the celebrations as players showed off the trophy on an open-topped bus through the city.

Several people were thrown into the air.

When the car stopped, angry fans converged on it and began smashing the windows as police officers intervened to prevent them from reaching the driver.

Harry Rashid, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters, told The Associated Press news agency that the car began ramming people about 3 metres (10ft) away from him.

“It was extremely fast,” he said. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”

Rashid added that the driver kept going after the crowd charged his vehicle, and “just ploughed through the rest of them”.

He said it looked deliberate and he was in shock and disbelief.

“My daughter started screaming, and there were people on the ground,” he said. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”

The incident followed a large celebration in the city centre, where hundreds of thousands of dancing, scarf- and flag-waving fans braved wet weather to line the streets and watch Liverpool’s players display the Premier League trophy atop two buses bearing the words “Ours Again”.

The hours-long procession – surrounded by a thick layer of police and security – crawled along a 10-mile (16km) route and through a sea of red smoke and rain. Fireworks exploded from the Royal Liver Building in the heart of the city to seemingly signal the end of the parade.

Liverpool last won the trophy during the COVID pandemic when celebrations were not permitted due to lockdowns.

Peter Jones, who had travelled from the Isle of Man to celebrate Liverpool’s victory, said he heard the car smash into the crowd and saw at least a half-dozen people down.

“We heard a frantic beeping ahead, a car flew past me and my mate, people were chasing it and trying to stop him, windows smashed at the back,” Jones said. “He then drove into people, police and medics ran past us, and people were being treated on the side of the road.”

The incident “cast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day”, Liverpool city’s council leader, Liam Robinson, said on social media.

‘Appalling’ scenes
Police were unusually quick to give a description of the man they arrested, in a possible decision to prevent misinformation from flooding social media.

Last July, a teen in the nearby town of Southport killed three girls in a stabbing rampage at a dance class and wounded 10 others, including two adults. An incorrect name of the suspect was spread on social media and people said he was an asylum seeker. In fact, he had been born in the United Kingdom.

Rioting then spread across England and Northern Ireland, targeting Muslims and refugees in hotels of asylum seekers and lasted about a week.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being kept updated about the latest incident in Liverpool.

“The scenes in Liverpool are appalling – my thoughts are with all those injured or affected. I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident,” he said on social media.

“The city has a long and proud history of coming together through difficult times. Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool.”

Liverpool FC said on X it was in direct contact with police.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident,” the team said.

The Premier League also issued a similar statement expressing shock at the “appalling events in Liverpool”

Aljazeera.com