On Monday, police apprehended a minivan driver after reports emerged that he drove into a gathering of Liverpool soccer fans, injuring several individuals who were celebrating the city’s team clinching the Premier League Championship.
The authorities have identified the driver as a 53-year-old man hailing from the Liverpool area. They consider this an isolated event and assert that no other individuals were involved. The police are not treating this incident as terrorism-related.
During a press briefing, Dave Kitchin from North West Air Ambulance shared that 27 people were hospitalized, with two facing severe injuries, and another 20 received treatment on-site for minor wounds. Among the injured are at least four children, with one child suffering serious harm.
Firefighters who responded to the scene had to lift the van to free three adults and one child, who were trapped beneath it. A cyclist paramedic on the scene was also struck by the van, though authorities said he did not sustain injuries.
Liverpool players on the team bus during the English Premier League winners’ parade in Liverpool, England, Monday. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
The incident came after a large celebration in the city center, where tens 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 from on top of two buses bearing the words, “Ours Again.”
Rashid told the AP that after the van struck its initial victims, it stopped and the crowd charged the vehicle, smashing its windows.
Police and emergency personnel respond to an incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners’ parade, in Liverpool, England, Monday. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
“But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid said, alleging the incident appeared deliberate. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”
“My daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground,” he added. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
