LIVERPOOL: Britain was in shock on Tuesday as at least four people in a serious condition were receiving hospital treatment after a car ploughed into a crowd celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League football victory.
A 53-year-old white British man, believed to be the driver of the car, was arrested after Monday evening’s incident, although police said they were not treating it as terrorism.
“There are still four people who are very, very ill in hospital and we are hoping of course that they pull through,“ Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool metro region, told BBC radio.
The morning newspapers splashed images of the incident across their front pages.
Headlines such as “Carnage at parade” in the Daily Mail and “Liverpool glory turns to horror” in The Daily Telegraph summed up what had started as a jubilant night for the Reds, who paraded through the city to celebrate a record-equalling 20th English league title.
In a late night press conference, emergency workers said almost 50 people were injured. A total of 27 football fans were taken to hospital, while 20 others were treated at the scene.
Four children were among those hurt, including one seriously.
A police cordon remained in place on Tuesday morning at the site, where litter from the previous night’s festivities was strewn across the street.
‘Pandemonium’
“We believe this to be an isolated incident, and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it,“ Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims told reporters.
“The incident is not being treated as terrorism,“ she added.
Hundreds of thousands of people had turned out in torrential rain to see the northwest English side’s victory parade, many of them having travelled from across the country and abroad to celebrate.
The bus carrying the team had passed nearby just minutes before the car ran into the crowd on Water Street, witnesses said.
“We could just see a commotion and a wave of people running back towards us,“ Liverpool fan Adam Hughes, 35, told AFP.
“The police were screaming at people to get away… It was pandemonium.”
Roger Downey, a supporter who was at the parade with his wife, said that “panic” had set in amongst the crowd after police rushed past to try and stop the vehicle.
Four people, including a child, were trapped under the car which had to be lifted to free them, fire services said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer commended the “remarkable bravery shown by the police and other emergency services”.
“They are supporting and caring for those injured in these terrible events,“ he said, adding that “the whole country stands with Liverpool”.
Images shared on social media showed the car ploughing through a crowd, running over people and others bouncing off its bonnet.
Other clips showed the vehicle being brought to a halt and swarmed by angry fans, who smashed the back windows as police sought to hold them back.
Liverpool had earlier on Monday been a sea of red as supporters packed the city’s streets to celebrate winning the Premier League title with manager Arne Slot and star players including Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Football world united
Liverpool FC said on X that they were working with Merseyside police, adding: “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident.”
The football world united behind the club as Everton, Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals, said their “thoughts are with all those who have been affected”.
Great rivals Manchester United wrote: “Our thoughts are with LFC and the city of Liverpool after today’s awful incident.”
Liverpool’s football history has been shadowed by tragedy.
In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in a crush at a game in the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.
More than 760 people were also injured in the deadliest disaster in British sporting history, which still scars the port city.
Police were quick to share details about the suspect on Monday, including his ethnicity following the crash, which one former police chief termed “unprecedented”.
“I think that was to dampen down some of the speculation from the far-right that sort of continues on X,“ former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu told BBC radio.
Almost a year ago, Liverpool and north England saw the worst riots in decades after false rumours spread that the attacker who stabbed three girls to death in nearby Southport was a Muslim immigrant.
