Prosecutors Announce Charges in Liverpool Crash

UPDATE May 29, 2025 6:20 PM CDT

The suspect who allegedly drove a minivan into a crowd at a parade celebrating Liverpool's soccer championship has been charged with several crimes, UK prosecutors said Thursday. Paul Doyle, 53, faces counts including causing and attempting to cause unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent, dangerous driving, and unlawful and malicious wounding with intent, the BBC reports. Doyle, a Royal Marine veteran and the father of three who lives in the Liverpool area, is to appear in court on Friday. The charges will be under review during the investigation, the chief prosecutor said. "It is important to ensure every victim gets the justice they deserve," said Sarah Hammond. Police say 79 people were injured in the incident, including 50 who were hospitalized.

May 27, 2025 6:30 AM CDT

The scenes were "appalling," says UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but police say a man who drove his minivan through a crowd of pedestrians in Liverpool on Monday was not committing an act of terrorism. Details about what happened:

• Parade: Police say the minivan struck pedestrians just after streets opened up following a victory parade for Liverpool's soccer championship in the Premier League. This video (note sensitive content) via the Guardian includes scenes of the vehicle being chased by people, and hitting pedestrians.
• Injuries: There were no fatalities. The AP reports nearly 50 were injured, including four children, with 27 sent to hospitals. Four of the injured remain "very very ill in hospital," says Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.

• Quick arrest: Authorities made a point to quickly announce the arrest of a 53-year-old white man, a British citizen, at the scene, notes the New York Times. This was apparently done to prevent the spread of misinformation. Last year, rioting broke out after a stabbing rampage in the UK when false information spread that the assailant was an asylum seeker. The driver has not been identified.
• Not terrorism: Authorities also said they were not investigating the incident as an act of terrorism, defined as "advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause," per the BBC. But what exactly happened remains unclear.
• One theory: Witnesses say the driver seemed impatient to get through the crowd—and things escalated horrifically. "I personally think he hit someone by mistake and then he put his foot down," a 55-year-old man at the scene tells the Guardian. After the initial impact, people started hitting the car, trying to smash the windows, another witness says. "But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going. It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people."

(More Liverpool stories.)