Liverpool car-ramming driver suspected of taking drugs
Emergency services on the scene Members of the emergency services treat members of the public inside a Police cordon at the scene of an incident on Water Street, on the sidelines of an open-top bus victory parade for Liverpool's Premier League title win, in Liverpool, north-west England on Monday. Photo: Darren Staples/AFP
Image: Darren Staples/AFP
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, Merseyside police said Tuesday.
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.
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.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
"An extensive investigation into the precise circumstances of the incident is ongoing," 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 III, who is currently 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.
'Pandemonium'
Hundreds of fans gathered at Liverpool's Anfield stadium Tuesday, many having travelled from around the globe to join the celebrations.
While there was relief no one was killed, there was shock that a day of pride and delight had ended in tragedy.
"It's devastating... We were all there for the joy of the day," said Adrian Chan, 35, from Singapore.
Michael Skabara, 28, a bar owner from Poland and a Liverpool fan for 20 years, was on his first visit. He vowed he would be back.
"After what happened yesterday I am definitely coming to a game as soon as I can. Life is too short," he said.
Images on social media showed the car ploughing through a crowd, running over people and others bouncing off its bonnet.
In other clips the vehicle was halted and swarmed by angry fans, who smashed the back windows as police sought to hold them back.
"We could just see a commotion and a wave of people running back towards us," Adam Hughes, 35, told AFP. "It was pandemonium."
Four people, including a child, were trapped under the car, which had to be lifted to free them, fire services said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer commended the "remarkable bravery" of the emergency services, adding that "the whole country stands with Liverpool". 'Liverpool family'
"Our anthem has never felt more appropriate, 'You'll Never Walk Alone'," legendary former Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish said.
Everton, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals, said their "thoughts are with all those who have been affected".
And great club rivals Manchester United wrote: "Our thoughts are with LFC and the city of Liverpool after today's awful incident."
Liverpool's football history has been shadowed by tragedy.
In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in a crush at a game in the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.
More than 760 people were also injured in the deadliest disaster in British sporting history, which still scars the port city.
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.
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
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mail & Guardian
an hour ago
- Mail & Guardian
Amid all the talk about preventing gender-based violence, sex workers are ignored
When courts dismiss violence on the basis of occupation, the message is clear: sex workers' lives matter less. As International Sex Workers Day approaches, many will rush to be seen. Statements will be issued, social media tiles shared and a flurry of symbolic visibility will flicker across timelines. But for sex workers on the front lines, skin-deep solidarity does nothing to help them navigate broken health systems, violent law enforcement and exclusionary public policy. What makes sex work dangerous are the laws, policies and attitudes that surround it. When police wield condoms as evidence, when shelters deny access based on moral judgment, when courts dismiss violence on the basis of occupation, the message is clear: sex workers' lives matter less. This leads to a brutal reality in which sex workers are 17 times more likely to be killed than the rest of the population, according to a The What little recourse the broader population may have in law enforcement (as citizens, survivors of abuse, or as workers) is simply not available to sex workers when their jobs are a crime. A Even worse, police officers often target and extort sex workers. A Serbian sex worker told researchers: '[The officer] pulled out a police badge and said 'C'mon, you want me to take you in [to jail] or screw you?' I was scared, and allowed him to screw me.' Sex workers are stripped of their dignity day in and day out. They are no more than a legal inconvenience, a public relations liability, a line item in someone else's report. This is not a coincidence. It is the result of systemic neglect. The dangerous politics of protection Human rights violations against sex workers are often masked by the language of public safety. In many countries, 'rescue' operations involve rounding up sex workers, jailing them and forcing them into rehabilitation programmes that neither respect their rights nor improve their safety. Such abuses are only strengthened by those in the the anti-trafficking sector who continue to conflate consensual sex work with forced labour. At the same time, governments refuse to work with sex worker-led organisations as legitimate stakeholders in violence prevention. The result? Interventions designed in boardrooms instead of communities and funding cycles that prioritise 'rescue' over rights. Even in relatively progressive contexts, decriminalisation is debated endlessly while police brutality continues without pause. Most countries operate under partial criminalisation or vague regulatory frameworks that leave sex workers exposed to violence without legal recourse. These grey zones are not neutral, they're often lethal. And in today's political climate, where anti-rights movements are gaining ground in every region, sex workers are among the first to be targeted, often alongside LGBTQ+ people and migrants. The rollback of hard-won human rights always starts with those who have the least institutional power. And too often, sex workers are treated as expendable. What real safety looks like It does not have to be this way. There is no shortage of evidence on what works when sex workers are seen as experts in their own lives and supported to lead the response. A The Lancet found that community empowerment approaches, those led by sex workers themselves, result in lower rates of violence, better health outcomes and increased condom use. Safety for sex workers looks like: Decriminalisation of all aspects of consensual adult sex work; Legal reform to ensure that sex workers can report violence without fear of arrest; Access to justice that includes legal aid, human rights training for law enforcement, and pathways to restitution; Non-discriminatory health care, inclusive of sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and trauma services; and Sustainable funding for sex worker-led movements, not just token consultation. We don't need more research. We need more political courage. The Cost of Erasure As someone who works at the intersection of gender-based violence and sex work, I've witnessed the deep institutional reluctance to name sex workers as survivors of violence in their own right. I've read strategies to fight gender-based violence that list every vulnerable group except the one most consistently brutalised by the state. I've seen national action plans that mention 'inclusive' services while operating under laws that criminalise the very people they claim to serve. Silence tells sex workers that their pain is not valid, their voices not credible and their rights not urgent. Sex workers are not passive victims waiting to be rescued. They are advocates, care workers, organisers and strategists who have built safety networks in the absence of state protection. They are the ones who distribute condoms, educate peers, challenge stigma and hold abusive systems to account. Any violence prevention strategy that does not include them at the centre is not only inadequate, it is dishonest. On this International Sex Workers Day, we must go beyond gestures. The international community cannot continue to ignore the double standard it applies to sex workers when it comes to gender justice. Governments cannot claim to care about ending gender-based violence while criminalising, excluding and persecuting sex workers. Safety is not a buzzword. It is the outcome of political decisions about who is worthy of protection and who is abandoned to survive alone. If we are serious about ending violence against women and gender-diverse people, we must start where the system is most violent and most unaccountable. And that means standing with sex workers, not as an act of charity, but as an act of solidarity and justice. Because safety doesn't appear when it's merely used as a slogan, it has to be built up as a system. We won't fix the system we've got now by ignoring the people who have survived its worst failures. Tian Johnson is the founder of the Pan-African health justice NGO, The African Alliance and GBV adviser to the Hands Off 2 programme which works with sex worker-led organisations, religious leaders, law enforcement, service providers and NGOs dedicated to human rights in efforts to reduce violence against sex workers.
eNCA
17 hours ago
- eNCA
Two bridges in Russia collapse in 'blasts', 7 dead
The overnight collapse of two bridges in Russian regions bordering Ukraine that killed seven people were caused by explosions, Russian officials said Sunday, treating them as "acts of terrorism". In Russia's Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, a blast caused a road bridge to collapse onto a railway line late Saturday, derailing a passenger train heading to Moscow and killing seven people, authorities said. A separate rail bridge in the neighbouring Kursk region was blown up hours later in the early hours of Sunday, derailing a freight train and injuring the driver. Authorities did not say who was behind the explosions, but investigators said a criminal inquiry was underway. Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the incidents throughout the night, the Kremlin said. Videos posted on social media from the Bryansk region showed rescuers clambering over the mangled chassis of a train belonging to national operator Russian Railways, while screams could be heard in another video. "There are seven dead as a result of the collapse of a bridge onto railway tracks," Alexander Bogomaz, the Bryansk region's governor, wrote on Telegram. At least 71 people were injured, 44 of whom were in hospital, he told reporters. In the incident in the Kursk region, a rail bridge collapsed onto a road, derailing a freight train. "Last night... in the Zheleznogorsk district, a bridge collapsed while a freight locomotive was passing. Part of the train fell onto the road below the bridge," Kursk region governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Telegram. "One of the locomotive drivers suffered leg injuries, and the entire crew was taken to hospital," he said. - 'Illegal interference' - There was no immediate comment from Russian investigators as to who was behind the blasts. A spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee said the incidents had been "classified as acts of terrorism", without elaborating. But senior ruling party lawmaker Andrey Klishas blamed Ukraine, describing it as a "terrorist enclave". Ukraine, which Russia has blamed for previous incidents, did not immediately comment. Russia has been hit by dozens of sabotage attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale military assault on its neighbour in 2022, many targeting its vast railroad network. Moscow Interregional Transport Prosecutor's Office/AFP | Handout Kyiv says Russia uses railroads to transport troops and weaponry to its forces fighting in Ukraine. An AFP reporter saw relatives waiting for loved-ones to arrive from the Bryansk region at a station in central Moscow. "Russian Railways said that those who had survived would be coming here," said 30-year-old entrepreneur Sergey Trinkinets. "My dad finally got in touch. He said he had some bruises and wasn't feeling very well, so I came to meet him," he told reporters. In one video posted on social media, purportedly taken at the scene of the incident in the Bryansk region, someone could be heard screaming as eyewitnesses rushed to find help. "How did the bridge collapse? There are children there!" a woman can be heard shouting in the video. Russia's emergency ministry said a team was on site in the Bryansk region, while Russian Railways said it had dispatched repair trains to the scene. The incidents came on the eve of a possible meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul, amid a US-led diplomatic push to end the three-year-long conflict.
The Herald
a day ago
- The Herald
Constable shoots three people, killing one, before turning gun on himself
A police constable allegedly shot his colleague and two other people — killing one of them — before turning the gun on himself in the Machunwini area of the Harry Gwala district in the early hours of Saturday. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said three police members from the tactical response team deployed in the Eastern Cape were driving home to the Free State when they allegedly missed a detour sign at the road works and their vehicle collided with barricades. Two community members responded and helped by contacting ambulance services and a tow truck. Netshiunda said the constable got out of the vehicle and shot the tow truck driver. 'When his colleague intervened, the constable reportedly shot him and another community member. The constable then reportedly turned the gun on himself.' The constable and the tow truck driver were declared dead at the scene, while the sergeant and the other man were rushed to hospital. The third police officer survived the shooting. The motive for the shooting is unknown. Police are investigating cases of murder, attempted murder, inquest and reckless and negligent driving. TimesLIVE
