Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
A British man was arrested after he drove his minivan on Monday into a parade of Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team's victory in the Premier League Championship. The incident left nearly four dozen people injured.
Authorities said the 53-year-old man is believed to be the only one involved in the incident and it was not being investigated as an act of terrorism.
"What I can tell you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident, and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it," Jennifer Sims, assistant chief constable of Merseyside Police, said at a press conference.
Tens of thousands of fans had joined in the hours-long procession under heavy security along a 16 km route.
Here's what we know so far about the crash:
What happened?
Authorities say a man ploughed his car into the crowd of soccer fans in the northwestern English city.
As the parade was wrapping up, a gray minivan turned onto the parade route and plowed into the sea of fans wrapped in their red Liverpool scarves, jerseys and other memorabilia.
A video on social media showed the van strike a man, tossing him in the air, before veering into a larger crowd, where it plowed a path through the group and pushed bodies along the street before coming to a stop.
Emergency vehicles and an air ambulance rushed to the scene to attend to the injured.
Paradegoer Peter Jones said he heard the car smash into the crowd and saw at least a half dozen people down in the road.
Another paradegoer, Harry Rashid, said the car stopped after initially hitting some of the victims. Rashid said people then charged toward the vehicle, smashing its windows, and the driver kept going.
Merseyside Police said they were investigating what led to the incident.
Who was affected?
Nearly four dozen people were injured, including four children. Twenty-seven people were taken to the hospital, with two suffering serious injuries, and another 20 were treated for minor injuries at the scene, according to authorities.
Four people were stuck beneath the vehicle and had to be freed by firefighters.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes appalling and hailed the bravery of rescuers.
“Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror," Starmer said. “The city has a long and proud history of coming together through difficult times. Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool.”
“It has cast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day for the city," City Council leader Liam Robinson said at a late night news conference.
Why were fans celebrating?
Liverpool fans were celebrating the city team's Premier League soccer championship in a record-tying 20th top-flight title.
The team's last league title was in 2020, but fans couldn't publicly celebrate in the same way due to pandemic-related restrictions.
Monday's parade wound through the streets despite wet weather. Fans danced and waved scarves while the team's players travelled on top of two buses.
Liverpool clinched the title after defeating Tottenham last month. Rival Manchester United also has the achievement of winning 20 English league titles.
Soccer clubs, players unite
Soccer clubs, players and the sport's governing bodies expressed sympathy and support to Liverpool.
Soccer united behind Liverpool, the most decorated men's soccer team in England and a world-famous brand, in an outpouring of messages over social media — including from the club's biggest rivals.
“Our thoughts are with Liverpool FC and the city of Liverpool after today's awful incident,” Manchester United, historically Liverpool's fiercest opponent, posted on X.
There were similar sentiments from Everton, Liverpool's neighbour on Merseyside, which said: “Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by this serious incident in our city.”
The Premier League expressed its shock at the “appalling events" that took place at the end of the team's trophy parade that was attended by hundreds of thousands of scarf-and-flag-waving Liverpool fans. “We have been in contact with Liverpool FC and have offered our full support following this serious incident,” the league said.
On behalf of the sport's world governing body, FIFA President Gianni Infantino offered thoughts and prayers to everyone affected.
“Football stands together with Liverpool FC and all fans of the club following the horrific incident,” he said in a post on X.
For all its trophies — including a record-tying 20 English top-flight titles and six European Cups — and success, Liverpool is also a club synonymous with tragedy and distress after being involved in deadly stadium disasters at Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s.
Liverpool's club anthem — “You'll Never Walk Alone" — was referenced by Kenny Dalglish, its former player and manager, in a post on social media. “Shocked, horrified and deeply saddened about what happened at the end of the parade today,” Dalglish wrote. “Our anthem,” he added, “has never felt more appropriate, You'll Never Walk Alone. Your Liverpool family are behind you.”
Jamie Carragher, another former player and now a leading TV commentator, posted on X: “Devastating end to the day………just pray everyone is ok.”
With inputs from agencies
