Key Points
- A car drove into a crowd of Liverpool fans during an English Premier League title celebration parade in the city.
- Several pedestrians were hit by the car, with emergency services treating multiple casualties.
- A 53-year-old white British man from Liverpool was arrested by Merseyside Police.
A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side's Premier League soccer title overnight, 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 people were treated at the scene. Ambulance officials said of the 27 taken to hospital, four were children. One child and one adult were in a serious condition. Four people trapped under the vehicle had to be released by firefighters.
Videos on social media showed people thrown into the air as the car rammed into spectators.
When the car stopped, angry fans converged on it and began smashing the windows as police officers intervened to prevent them from reaching 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.
The incident "cast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day," Liverpool city council leader Liam Robinson said on social media.
The Liverpool bus making its way through the streets during the parade. Source: AAP / Danny Lawson / PA
Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent in London's Metropolitan Police, told the BBC this was an effort to cool social media speculation that the episode was an Islamist attack.
An eyewitness to the incident who gave her name as Chelsea told BBC Radio that people packed onto the street were only alerted to the danger by screams from the crowd. That enabled some to jump out of the way as the driver showed no sign of slowing.
"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.
Liverpool last won the trophy during the COVID-19 pandemic when celebrations were not permitted due to lockdowns.
