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The area in Liverpool is cordoned off [Phil Noble\/Reuters]<\/p>\nA British man has been arrested after he drove his car into a crowd of Liverpool football fans celebrating their team\u2019s Premier League victory, hospitalising some 27 people, including four children.<\/p>\n
Police said they believe the \u201c53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area\u201d acted alone in the car ramming in the city in northwest England on Monday.<\/p>\n
They said the incident was not being investigated as an act of terrorism.<\/p>\n
Some 20 people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, while ambulance officials said 27 people were taken to hospital.<\/p>\n
One child and one adult were in a serious condition.<\/p>\n
Four of the victims, including a child, were trapped under the van, and firefighters had to lift the vehicle to free them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe this to be an isolated incident, and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not being treated as terrorism,\u201d temporary Deputy Chief Constable Jenny Sims told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u2018Dark shadow\u2019<\/p>\n
Videos of the incident posted on social media showed a dark-coloured car swerving into the crowds in Liverpool at the end of the celebrations as players showed off the trophy on an open-topped bus through the city.<\/p>\n
Several people were thrown into the air.<\/p>\n
When the car stopped, angry fans converged on it and began smashing the windows as police officers intervened to prevent them from reaching the driver.<\/p>\n
Harry Rashid, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters, told The Associated Press news agency that the car began ramming people about 3 metres (10ft) away from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was extremely fast,\u201d he said. \u201cInitially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
The area in Liverpool is cordoned off [Phil Noble\/Reuters]<\/p>\n
Rashid added that the driver kept going after the crowd charged his vehicle, and \u201cjust ploughed through the rest of them\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said it looked deliberate and he was in shock and disbelief.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter started screaming, and there were people on the ground,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incident followed a large celebration in the city centre, where hundreds of thousands of dancing, scarf- and flag-waving fans braved wet weather to line the streets and watch Liverpool\u2019s players display the Premier League trophy atop two buses bearing the words \u201cOurs Again\u201d.<\/p>\n
The hours-long procession \u2013 surrounded by a thick layer of police and security \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
Liverpool last won the trophy during the COVID pandemic when celebrations were not permitted due to lockdowns.<\/p>\n
Peter Jones, who had travelled from the Isle of Man to celebrate Liverpool\u2019s victory, said he heard the car smash into the crowd and saw at least a half-dozen people down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe heard a frantic beeping ahead, a car flew past me and my mate, people were chasing it and trying to stop him, windows smashed at the back,\u201d Jones said. \u201cHe then drove into people, police and medics ran past us, and people were being treated on the side of the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incident \u201ccast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day\u201d, Liverpool city\u2019s council leader, Liam Robinson, said on social media.<\/p>\n
\u2018Appalling\u2019 scenes<\/p>\n
Police were unusually quick to give a description of the man they arrested,\u00a0in a possible decision to prevent misinformation from flooding social media.<\/p>\n
Last July, 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 United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Rioting then spread across England and Northern Ireland, targeting Muslims and refugees in hotels of asylum seekers and lasted about a week.<\/p>\n
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being kept updated about the latest incident in Liverpool.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scenes in Liverpool are appalling \u2013 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,\u201d he said on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city has a long and proud history of coming together through difficult times. Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWe are in direct contact with Merseyside Police regarding the incident on Water Street which happened towards the end of the trophy parade earlier this evening.<\/p>\n
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident.<\/p>\n
We will continue to offer\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/xreiSqiEnL<\/a><\/p>\n