In what a witness says appeared to be a "clearly deliberate" act—though police said they don't suspect terrorism—a driver plowed into a crowd of people celebrating Liverpool's English Premier League title on Monday. First responders said 27 injured people were taken to hospitals and another 20 treated at the scene; a child is one of the two people most severely hurt. The driver, described by the Liverpool Echo as a 53-year-old British man from the Liverpool area, was detained. Police say he hit multiple pedestrians in the city center, where thousands had gathered for the victory parade. The Guardian reports that the incident occurred minutes after the soccer team's open-top bus parade through the city concluded and roads were reopened.
Harry Rashid, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters, tells the Telegraph that the act appeared deliberate. The driver "just rammed into all the people at the side of us," he says. "It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car." The driver, Rashid says, "stalled for a few seconds, probably about 10 seconds. Then the crowd that was a bit further back started rushing at him trying to smash his windows. But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going."
The AP reports that a video on social media shows a gray minivan "strike at least one pedestrian and then veer into a larger crowd of people, carving a path through the group and pushing bodies along the street like a plow before coming to a stop." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the incident was "appalling," the BBC reports. "My thoughts are with all those injured or affected," he said. A police official in Liverpool said: "We believe this to be an isolated incident and we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with it. The incident is not being treated as terrorism." A spokesperson told the Echo that police are asking people "not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight's incident" and to send "distressing footage" to authorities instead of sharing it online.
This file has been updated with new information. (More Liverpool stories.)
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