Police say a male suspect is taken into custody after a automotive collides with a number of pedestrians in Liverpool.
A person has been arrested after driving a automotive right into a crowd in Liverpool throughout a parade to have fun Liverpool FC’s Premier League soccer title, emergency companies say.
Merseyside Police in northwest England mentioned they have been contacted simply after 6pm (17:00 GMT) on Monday “following stories a automotive had been in collision with quite a few pedestrians”.
The PA Media information company, quoting police, reported the arrested man is a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool space”.
“In depth enquiries are ongoing to determine the circumstances main as much as the collision,” police mentioned. “We’d ask folks to not speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident.”
There was no instant phrase from authorities about how many individuals have been injured.
Social media footage appeared to point out a dark-coloured automotive swerving into the dense crowd on the finish of the celebrations as gamers confirmed off the trophy on an open-topped bus by way of the town.
Harry Rashid, who was on the parade together with his spouse and two younger daughters, informed The Related Press information company the automotive started ramming folks about 3 metres (10ft) away from him.
“It was extraordinarily quick,” Rashid mentioned. “Initially, we simply heard the pop, pop, pop of individuals simply being knocked off the bonnet of a automotive.”
The world in Liverpool is cordoned off (Phil Noble/Reuters)
Crowds and uniformed cops shortly surrounded the automobile and several other folks mendacity on the bottom.
Cordons have been put in place, and a fireplace engine was additionally on the scene.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer mentioned he was being saved up to date in regards to the incident.
“The scenes in Liverpool are appalling – my ideas are with all these injured or affected. I need to thank the police and emergency companies for his or her swift and ongoing response to this surprising incident,” Starmer mentioned on social media.
The incident adopted a big celebration within the metropolis centre, the place tens of 1000’s of dancing, scarf- and flag-waving followers braved moist climate to line the streets and watch Liverpool’s gamers show the Premier League trophy atop two buses bearing the phrases “Ours Once more”.
The hours-long procession – surrounded by a thick layer of police and safety – crawled alongside a 10-mile (16km) route and thru a sea of pink smoke and rain. Fireworks exploded from the Royal Liver Constructing within the coronary heart of the town to seemingly sign the tip of the parade.
Rashid mentioned after the automotive struck its preliminary victims, it got here to a halt and the group charged the automobile and commenced smashing home windows.
“However then he put his foot down once more and simply ploughed by way of the remainder of them. He simply saved going,” Rashid mentioned. “It was horrible. And you might hear the bumps as he was going over the folks.”
Rashid mentioned it regarded deliberate and he was in shock and disbelief.
“My daughter began screaming, and there have been folks on the bottom,” he mentioned. “They have been simply harmless folks, simply followers going to benefit from the parade.”
In the meantime, Liverpool mentioned in a publish on X that it was in direct contact with police in regards to the occasion. “Our ideas and prayers are with those that have been affected by this severe incident,” the workforce mentioned.
