OAN Staff Blake Wolf
5:44 PM – Monday, May 26, 2025
A man was arrested on Monday after driving into a crowd of soccer fans in Liverpool, England, in the United Kingdom. It transpired during a celebration that followed Liverpool Football Club’s Premier League Championship.
The parade reportedly attracted tens of thousands of fans to celebrate the team’s league championship.
According to witnesses, the man was seen driving his vehicle into “a number of pedestrians,” after the team’s bus passed through the area.
In a press conference soon after, UK police shared that the individual who struck the pedestrians is a “53-year-old White British man,” without providing more details regarding his identity.
The incident left over 45 people injured, with at least four of the injuries being inflicted on children. 27 individuals were transported to the hospital, including “two with severe injuries,” according to Dave Kitchin of North West Air Ambulance.
“We would ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident on Water Street in Liverpool city centre,” the Merseyside Police department wrote in an X post.
“We can confirm the man arrested is a 53-year-old White British man from the Liverpool area. Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision,” the post continued.
Harry Rashid, who attended the event along with his wife and two daughters, witnessed the incident and spoke to reporters who flocked to the scene.
“It was extremely fast,” he stated, speaking with the Associated Press. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”
Rashid continued, explaining that the van came to a quick stop after striking the victims.
“But then, he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid stated. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”
“My daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground,” he added. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a statement following the incident.
“The scenes in Liverpool are appalling – 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. I’m being kept updated on developments and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate,” he stated in an X post.
Law enforcement officials noted that they were not currently treating the incident as an act of terrorism.
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