Police in Liverpool rule out terrorism after car rams into crowd at parade

The suspect apparently acted alone on Monday when he drove a gray minivan into the crowd in the heart of Liverpool in northwest England, according to local police. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to celebrate Liverpool Football Club’s Premier League victory at the time of the incident. Videos from the parade show the car driving erratically down the street and striking dozens of people before coming to a stop where onlookers swarmed the vehicle and began pounding on the windows. Paramedics treated 20 people for minor injuries at the scene and transported 27 others to area hospitals for further treatment, said North West Ambulance Service Head of Service David Kitchin. Four children were among those injured. Police were not treating the incident as an act of terrorism and have not said how the driver was able to get his vehicle into the crowd.

What do we know about the suspect? Police on Monday arrested a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area who they believe was driving the vehicle. It is rare for police in the United Kingdom to share the race and nationality of a suspect and the move was likely an attempt to quell disinformation, according to the BBC. Authorities urged the public not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident. Last summer, residents in the city of Southport, north of Liverpool, rioted after online rumors falsely claimed that the suspect in a knife attack was a Muslim immigrant. Police, from the same department investigating this week’s incident, had released very few details about the 17-year-old suspect who was accused of killing three young girls at a dance school.

What have other officials said about the incident? In a statement, Liverpool FC CEO Billy Hogan thanked first responders and members of the public who helped the injured parade-goers. Meanwhile, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, King Charles III, and other members of the royal family offered condolences and support for the victims.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report from last year about the stabbing in a city just north of Liverpool.