A man has been arrested after driving a car into a crowd in Liverpool during a parade to celebrate Liverpool FC’s Premier League football title, emergency services say.
Merseyside Police in northwest England said they were contacted just after 6pm (17:00 GMT) on Monday “following reports a car had been in collision with a number of pedestrians”.
The PA Media news agency, quoting police, reported the arrested man is a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area”.
“Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision,” police said. “We would ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident.”
There was no immediate word from authorities about how many people were injured.
Social media footage appeared to show a dark-coloured car swerving into the dense crowd at the end of the celebrations as players showed off the trophy on an open-topped bus through the city.
Harry Rashid, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters, told The Associated Press news agency the car began ramming people about 3 metres (10ft) away from him.
“It was extremely fast,” Rashid said. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”
Crowds and uniformed police officers quickly surrounded the vehicle and several people lying on the ground.
Cordons were put in place, and a fire engine was also at the scene.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being kept updated about the incident.
“The scenes in Liverpool are appalling – my thoughts are with all those injured or affected. I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident,” Starmer said on social media.
The incident followed a large celebration in the city centre, 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 atop two buses bearing the words “Ours Again”.
The hours-long procession – surrounded by a thick layer of police and security – crawled along a 10-mile (16km) route and through a sea of red smoke and rain. Fireworks exploded from the Royal Liver Building in the heart of the city to seemingly signal the end of the parade.
Rashid said after the car struck its initial victims, it came to a halt and the crowd charged the vehicle and began smashing windows.
“But then he put his foot down again and just ploughed through the rest of them. He just kept going,” Rashid said. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”
Rashid said it looked deliberate and he was in shock and disbelief.
“My daughter started screaming, and there were people on the ground,” he said. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool said in a post on X that it was in direct contact with police about the event. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident,” the team said.
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