Car ploughs into fans at Liverpool parade, 27 in hospital

A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side’s Premier League soccer title on Monday, hospitalising 27 people, with two seriously injured, but police said they did not believe the incident was terrorism-related.

Police said they had arrested a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area,” whom they believed to be the driver of the vehicle which struck a large group of supporters who were celebrating in the city in northwest England.

Twenty individuals received medical care at the location. Ambulance representatives stated that among the 27 people transported to the hospital, four were minors. One adult and one child were in critical condition. Firefighters had to free four individuals who were trapped beneath the vehicle.

Footage on social media displayed individuals being launched into the air when the vehicle crashed into onlookers. As the car halted, furious fans gathered around it and started breaking the windows while police officers stepped in to stop them from getting to the driver.

“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.

As many individuals had the day off for the Spring Bank Holiday, hundreds of thousands of supporters assembled to see the Liverpool team and its personnel parade through the city center on an open-top bus carrying the Premier League trophy.

A witness stated that the accident occurred roughly 10 minutes after the Liverpool team bus had gone by, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The event “cast a significant pall over what was a celebratory day,” stated Liverpool city council leader Liam Robinson on social media. Police were notably prompt in providing a description of the man taken into custody.

Dal Babu, a past chief superintendent with London’s Metropolitan Police, informed the BBC that this was a bid to dampen social media speculation regarding the incident being an Islamist attack.

The same police department managed the reaction to the killing of three young girls in the adjacent town of Southport last year, an event that ignited days of unrest, driven by online rumors regarding the identity of the assailant.

An observer of Monday’s event, identified as Chelsea, informed BBC Radio that the individuals crowded on the street were only made aware of the threat by the screams emanating from the bystanders. This allowed a few to evade the vehicle as the driver exhibited no indication of decelerating.

“With the commotion, that was the only reason we looked up, and thankfully, looked up and managed to jump out (of) the way in time,” the woman said.

“My thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X, calling the scenes “appalling” and saying he was being updated about the events.

The team 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,” Liverpool FC said.

Over a dozen European nations are anticipated to release a statement expressing they are “deeply concerned” regarding Hungarian laws aimed at LGBTQ+ individuals, based on a draft reviewed by Reuters on Monday.

In March, Hungary’s parliament enacted a law to prohibit the yearly Pride march and permitted police to utilize facial recognition cameras for identifying attendees. It also sanctioned amendments in April that enshrine in the constitution Hungary’s recognition of only two genders, male and female.