Liverpool car-rammer suspected of attempted murder, driving on drugs

Eleven people remained in hospital in a stable condition after more than 50 were injured in Monday’s tragedy, when the driver followed an ambulance through road-blocks and ploughed into the crowds.

A driver who ploughed into crowds joyfully celebrating Liverpool football club’s Premier League win is being held on suspicion of attempted murder and taking drugs, British police said.

As football fans from the UK and abroad rallied around the port city, the police revealed that 11 people still remained in hospital in stable condition out of the 65 injured in Monday evening’s shocking scenes.

The team’s victory parade was ending in the city centre when the driver of a Ford Galaxy followed an ambulance through a lifted road-block and ploughed into the crowds, Merseyside police said.

The car ploughed into a packed crowd of football fans in Liverpool.

A 53-year-old white British man was arrested with police swiftly ruling out terrorism. He was being held “on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs,” assistant chief constable Jenny Sims told a press conference on Tuesday.

“An extensive investigation into the precise circumstances of the incident is ongoing,” Chief Constable Sims added.

Messages of support flooded in Tuesday from around the world.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are injured and affected. You’ll never walk alone,” said former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, echoing the club’s famous anthem which only hours before had echoed joyfully around the city.

King Charles, who is visiting Canada, said he was “deeply shocked and saddened”.

“It is truly devastating to see that what should have been a joyous celebration for so many could end in such distressing circumstances,” he said in a statement.

The car slammed into dense crowds on Water Street just after an open-topped bus parade with Liverpool manager Arne Slot and star players including Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk passed by.

Four children were among those hurt, including one seriously.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the tragedy as he hailed the bravery of rescuers and said the country’s thoughts were with the city and its people.

“Scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation,“ Sir Keir said Tuesday. “Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool.”

Princess Anne thanks emergency responders following an incident on Monday evening when a car ploughed into a crowd of people during Liverpool FC's Premier League Picture: Peter Byrne – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Hundreds of thousands of Liverpudlians had crammed the streets of the port city in northwest England on Monday to celebrate the team winning England’s Premier League this season for a record-tying 20th top-flight title.

As the parade was wrapping up, the car turned down a cordoned-off street just off the parade route and ploughed into the sea of fans wrapped in their red Liverpool scarfs, 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 ploughed a path through the group and pushed bodies along the street before coming to a stop.

“It was extremely fast,” said Harry Rashid, who was with his wife and two young daughters as the car passed by them. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”

‘Social media is a cesspit’

Police were quick to share the ethnicity of the suspect on Monday, a move one former police chief termed “unprecedented”.

“I think that was to dampen down some of the speculation from the far right,” former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu told BBC radio.

Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotherham, talks to members of the media beside a police cordon on Water Street in Liverpool. Picture: AFP

Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram also said police acted appropriately to tamp down online speculation about the person responsible as false rumours spread rapidly online of there being another incident.

“Social media is a cesspit,” he said, referring to the conjecture and misinformation.

“It was designed to inflame. It was designed to divide. The message of hate doesn’t go down well here.”

Last summer, a teen in the nearby town of Southport killed three girls in a stabbing rampage at a dance class and wounded 10 others, including two adults. An incorrect name of the suspect was spread on social media and people said he was an asylum-seeker. In fact, he had been born in the UK. Rioting spread across England and Northern Ireland, targeting Muslims and refugees in hotels for asylum-seekers, lasting about a week.

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.

AFP and AP