A 53-year-old British man drove a minivan into a crowd of Liverpool football supporters celebrating the city’s Premier League championship on Monday, injuring more than 45 people and turning celebrations into chaos.
Police confirmed that the arrested driver was believed to have acted alone and that the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
Emergency services transported 27 victims to hospitals, including two with serious injuries, while another 20 people received treatment at the scene for minor wounds, according to Dave Kitchin of the North West Ambulance Service. Among the injured were at least four children.
Four individuals, including a child, became trapped beneath the vehicle and were rescued after firefighters lifted the van. A paramedic on a bicycle was also hit but did not sustain injuries.
“This has cast a very dark shadow over what was meant to be a joyous day for the city,” Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson said during a late-night news briefing.
The attack occurred as the championship parade was drawing to a close. Witnesses reported that a gray minivan suddenly veered onto the parade route and accelerated into a crowd of fans adorned in Liverpool scarves and jerseys. Social media footage showed the vehicle striking a man and tossing him into the air before continuing through the crowd, knocking people to the ground as it traveled.
Harry Rashid, who was attending the parade with his wife and two daughters, described the scene: “It was extremely fast. At first, we heard the sound of people being hit and falling off the van’s bonnet.”
Rashid recounted that after the vehicle initially stopped and the crowd confronted it, the driver suddenly accelerated again, running over more people. “It was horrible. You could hear the bumps as he went over people. It looked deliberate,” he said.
“My daughter started screaming. People were lying on the ground. These were innocent fans out to enjoy the parade,” Rashid added.
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool supporters had gathered to celebrate the club’s record-tying 20th top-flight league title.
Peter Jones, who traveled from the Isle of Man, witnessed the attack and saw several people down. “We heard frantic beeping, then a car sped past us. People were chasing it and trying to stop it. Windows were smashed at the back of the vehicle. The driver then plowed into the crowd. Police and medics rushed past, attending to those injured on the roadside,” Jones said.
Police are conducting thorough investigations to determine the cause of the collision and urged the public to avoid speculation or sharing distressing content online.
To prevent misinformation, authorities identified the suspect as white. This measure reflects lessons learned from last summer’s stabbing rampage in nearby Southport, where false social media reports incorrectly linked the attacker to asylum seekers, fueling unrest.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the incident and praised emergency responders. “Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror. Liverpool has a proud tradition of unity in difficult times. The city stands together, and the whole country stands with Liverpool,” he said.
Liverpool Football Club’s celebrations were overshadowed by the memory of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, where 97 fans lost their lives in a stadium crush during a match against Nottingham Forest. That tragedy was marked by a police cover-up and delayed justice.
Fans were unable to publicly celebrate the club’s previous league title in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. This year, despite rain, thousands lined the streets waving flags and climbing traffic lights to catch a glimpse of the team riding atop two buses emblazoned with “Ours Again.”
The parade, heavily policed, moved slowly along a 10-mile route amid red smoke and rain, accompanied by fireworks exploding from Liverpool’s Royal Liver Building.
Liverpool FC released a brief statement expressing condolences to those affected, while the Premier League described the attack as “appalling,” expressing shock at the events in Liverpool.
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