
Liverpool parade latest: 'Devastated' Klopp issues statement after nearly 50 people hurt in car ramming
By Katerina Vittozzi, North of England correspondent
Merseyside Police knows - better than any force, perhaps - that in a social media age, an information vacuum can become a misinformation cauldron.
They've learnt from the aftermath of the Southport stabbing attack, when the force was criticised for being too slow to release information that could have calmed the riots that followed - which were fuelled by online speculation that the suspect was an immigrant.
So it feels like things have been done differently this time.
The incident happened just after 6pm yesterday. Videos - captured by fans on their phones - were online within moments. Shared and speculated upon, with guesses as to the attacker's identity and motive.
But alongside the huge and immediate police investigation, the communication machine moved equally fast.
Within a few hours, police released a description of the man they'd arrested: a 53-year-old white, British man from the Liverpool area.
A few hours after that, we had an extensive news conference, during which police ruled out terrorism as a motive.
Again, they appealed for videos not to be shared online and for people not to speculate.
And all the while, the police investigation continues.
In central Liverpool, Water Street is cordoned off with police officers and vehicles in place.
Flags, sprays of paint, flares and empty bottles still cover the road. Whereas they've been cleared elsewhere along the parade route, here they remain. Chilling symbols of the party, that within moments became a scene of utter horror.
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