A car collided with a number of pedestrians in the center of Liverpool in northwest England, injuring at least 27, officials said Monday, as thousands lined the streets to celebrate Liverpool Football Club’s English Premier League title win.
At least 27 people, including four children, were hospitalized for their injuries, North West Ambulance Service Head of Service David Kitchin said. Of those people, one adult and one child have serious injuries, Kitchin said.
Twenty more people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, Kitchin said. Additional patients have shown up at local hospitals, as well.
Fire crews lifted the vehicle, which video showed was a minivan, off four people who were trapped underneath, including a child, said Nick Searle, chief fire officer for Merseyside Fire and Rescue. They were all taken to the hospital.
Describing it as a “major incident” on X, Merseyside police said the car “stopped at the scene” and a man was detained. In a later statement, police said “the suspect was white, British and from the Liverpool area.” It added that he was 53 years old.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said at a news conference Monday evening that officials believe the arrested man is the one who was behind the wheel.
Sims said officials and investigators are working to understand what happened leading up to the collision, which he said is not being investigated as an act of terrorism. She said that it was an isolated incident and that officials are not looking for anyone else in connection with it.
Video showed emergency vehicles and police cordons around a heavily littered road.
Social media video verified by NBC News from before the collision and several streets away shows people yelling at the van, kicking it and trying to open its doors as the driver moves it back and forth. Verified video of the ramming appears to show the van moments later, a large crowd surrounding it as paradegoers continue to hit its exterior.
Then, the video shows the vehicle speeding up and driving through the crowd, knocking down a number of pedestrians. It continues to plow through the fan-filled streets, and there are a large number of people who appear to be injured lying on the ground.
After the car comes to a stop, the video shows angry Liverpool fans swarming it once again, pounding on its windows and exterior as police rush to break up the scene.
Another social media video from street level and verified by NBC News appears to show the aftermath of the ramming. Police navigate the large and crowded streets. In the video, witnesses say the driver knocked over at least six people.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes “appalling” on X. “My thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” he said, adding that he was “being kept updated on developments.”
Eyewitness Natasha Rinaldi told British broadcaster Sky News, NBC News’ international partner, that “people sounded desperate” and that she saw the car had “run over people.”
“Then people started rushing to go after the driver and they tried to break the car. The police did everything to block and to push people away,” Rinaldi said. “We could just hear screams and screams. We were very confused.”
“Some of my friends were down there, and the car was so near them. It was a horrible scene; nobody was expecting it.”
Harry Rashid, 48, of Solihull, told the PA news agency that he was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters.
“It happened about 10 feet away from us,” he said. “We were just in a crowd, and we had no control over where we would be, because it was a very narrow street.”
“The vehicle came to our right. It emerged from just right next to an ambulance, which was parked up. This gray people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us,” he added.
Liverpool FC said in a statement on X that it was in contact with the police. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected,” it said.
It had been a particularly joyous Monday for Liverpool supporters, celebrating the Reds’ title in a proper manner denied to them five years ago.
Liverpool last finished atop the Premier League in 2020, in a season derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. There was no victory parade to toast that title-winning club.
The club is no stranger to tragedy, as the 1989 Hillsborough disaster is still burned into the memories of Liverpool supporters.
Liverpool’s FA Cup semifinal match against Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989, was stopped because of a crush of fans at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.
Nearly 100 Reds supporters died in the worst sports tragedy in English sports history.
During Monday night’s news conference, Liverpool City Councilman Liam Robinson referred to the collective unity of the city in the face of tragedy.
“Liverpool is a city with a proud history of coming together and supporting each other during challenging times,” he said.