Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after Liverpool parade crash, World News
LIVERPOOL, England - A 53-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs after a car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a Premier League title parade, injuring more than 50, British police said.
Eleven victims remained in hospital in a stable condition on Tuesday (May 27) , police said, adding that they all appeared to be recovering well.
British police believe the incident, in a packed Liverpool city centre on Monday, was isolated and not an act of terrorism.
They said the driver of the grey Ford Galaxy people-carrier involved in the incident was believed to have followed an ambulance into a closed street when a road block was lifted to allow paramedics to attend to a suspected heart attack victim.
Videos posted online showed the vehicle driving through the street crowded with fans, sending several flying into the air and dragging at least four under its wheels.
When the vehicle stopped, angry people converged on it and began smashing the windows as police officers battled to prevent them from reaching the driver.
Police said 50 people, including children, had been treated for their injuries, with 11 still in hospital.
"They are all in a stable condition, and I am pleased to say that they appear to be recovering well," Deputy Chief Constable Jenny Sims said.
King Charles, who is visiting Canada, said he was "deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the terrible events".
His sister, Princess Anne, met medics who had treated some of the injured at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. A million people
With most people off work for the Spring Bank Holiday, officials estimated that around 1 million people descended on the 10-mile (16 km) parade route to watch the Liverpool team travel through the city on an open-top bus with the Premier League trophy.
Liverpool last won the league in 2020, ending a 30-year-wait, but fans were unable to celebrate due to lockdowns during the pandemic.
Police said the car hit the spectators as the event was winding down. In the aftermath, a Reuters photographer saw emergency services carrying victims on stretchers and in their arms to nearby ambulances.
One source told MailOnline that it looked like the driver panicked when he realised he was in the crowd and people started banging on his car.
The driver, who was sounding his horn, reversed and then accelerated forwards, according to reports from other witnesses.
Police were unusually quick to provide a description of the man they arrested, saying around two hours after the incident he was a "53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area."
Former police officers and local politicians said that statement was needed to cool social media speculation that the episode was an Islamist attack.
"That was one of my first concerns, that we needed to get the story out quickly," Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram told the BBC.
"If there's a vacuum, we know there are some elements that will try to inflame the situation and to create that speculation and to put misinformation out there."
The same police force oversaw the response to the murder of three young girls in the nearby town of Southport last year, an incident which sparked days of rioting, fuelled initially by speculation online over the identity of the attacker.
[[nid:718449]]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump says he spoke to Putin about Ukraine drone attacks, Iran
US President Donald Trump (left) had a phone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on June 4. PHOTO: AFP Trump says he spoke to Putin about Ukraine drone attacks, Iran WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on June 4 that he discussed the recent drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia and developments concerning Iran in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the conversation, Mr Putin told Mr Trump that Russia will have to respond to the Ukrainian drone attacks, the US president said. "It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace," he said, in a Truth Social post. "I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement." REUTERS US President Donald Trump said he had enjoyed a 'good conversation' with his Russian counterpart, but not one that would lead to immediate peace in Ukraine. SCREENSHOT: X Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Harvey Weinstein's accusers 'all said no,' prosecutor tells jury as rape retrial ends
Harvey Weinstein, former co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., appears at Manhattan criminal court in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. JUSTIN LANE/Pool via REUTERS Harvey Weinstein, former co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., appears at Manhattan criminal court in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Michael Nagle/Pool via REUTERS Harvey Weinstein, former co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., appears at Manhattan criminal court in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. JUSTIN LANE/Pool via REUTERS NEW YORK - A prosecutor on Wednesday told jurors in Harvey Weinstein's Manhattan retrial that the evidence clearly showed the former movie mogul raped three women, pushing back on a defense lawyer's efforts to paint the accusers as liars. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg picked up where she left off during closing arguments the previous day, seeking to show that Weinstein forced himself on the women despite their pleading with him to stop. The Academy Award-winning producer and Miramax studio co-founder is accused of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and assaulting the two other women in 2006 and 2002. Weinstein, who has denied ever having non-consensual sex or assaulting anyone, has pleaded not guilty. The trial began in April. "Members of the jury, he raped three women. They all said, 'no,'" Blumberg said. Weinstein, 73, is on trial for a second time after a New York state appeals court threw out his conviction in April 2024. Experiencing a litany of health problems, Weinstein was present in court on Wednesday in a wheelchair, wearing a dark suit and tie. Before Blumberg's pitch to jurors Wednesday, defense lawyer Arthur Aidala twice moved for a mistrial based on the prosecutor's arguments the previous day, but the motions were swiftly denied by state Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber. The 12 jurors are due to begin deliberations after closing arguments are completed and Farber instructs them on the law. Blumberg on Tuesday called Weinstein a serial predator who promised career advancement in Hollywood to women, only to then coax them into private settings where he attacked them. She urged jurors Wednesday to disregard the defense's claim the Weinstein was on trial because he was famous and that prosecutors were trying to criminalize consensual sex. "We heard a lot about 'policing the bedroom' yesterday," Blumberg said, referring to Aidala's closing argument on Tuesday. "We don't want to police bedrooms either - unless you're forcibly raping someone inside them." Aidala on Tuesday accused the three alleged victims of lying on the witness stand out of spite after consensual sexual encounters with Weinstein failed to deliver them Hollywood stardom. "They are lying about what happened. Not about everything, but about a small slice - just enough to turn their regret, their buyers' remorse, into criminality," Aidala said of the accusers. The lawyer hoisted a dozen poster-sized placards showing emails from the accusers where they seek Weinstein's company after the alleged attacks, saying they showed the women were lying. Weinstein faces a maximum sentence of up to 29 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He already will likely spend the rest of his life in prison due to a 16-year prison sentence given to him after being found guilty in December 2022 of rape in California. He was convicted of rape by a jury in the previous trial in Manhattan in February 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial, citing errors by the trial judge. Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in upstate Rome, New York, when the conviction was overturned. That conviction was a milestone for the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men. More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct. Weinstein has been held at New York City's Rikers Island jail since his conviction was overturned. He has experienced several health scares while being held at Rikers, and in September was rushed to a hospital for emergency heart surgery. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine releases new footage of drone attack on Russian strategic bombers
A combination picture shows satellite images of the Belaya airfield, before and after the Ukrainian drones attack targeting Russian military airfields, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, in Irkutsk region, Russia, May 17, 2025 on the left, and June 2, 2025 on the right. 2025 Planet Labs PBC (left) & Capella Space/Handout via REUTERS Satellite image of the Belaya airfield, after a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Russian military airfields, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, in Irkutsk region, Russia, June 2, 2025. Capella Space/Handout via REUTERS A satellite image shows the Belaya airfield, before a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Russian military airfields, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, in Irkutsk region, Russia, May 17, 2025. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS KYIV - Ukraine released new footage on Wednesday of its major drone strike on four Russian military airbases, showing attack drones targeting numerous Russian strategic bombers and landing on two airborne early warning and control planes. Ukrainian authorities say Sunday's attack on the airfields using 117 drones hit 41 military aircraft. Reuters has not independently verified that number. Satellite imagery shows several bombers were destroyed and badly damaged at one base. New drone footage released by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) showed drones landing on the dome antennae of two A-50 military spy planes, of which there are only a handful in Russia's fleet. There was no video showing the drones detonate. Reuters was able to independently verify the locations of all four air bases in the footage, including Ivanovo airbase where the A-50s were stationed. Reuters could not independently verify what date the footage was filmed. The SBU said in a statement that the aircraft struck included the A-50, the Tu-95 strategic bomber, the Tu-22M3 supersonic jet bomber, the Tu-160 strategic bomber, as well as the An-12 and Il-78 military cargo planes. Some of those military aircraft are part of Russia's airborne nuclear deterrent, but can also be armed with cruise missiles that Russia has used to pound targets in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in February 2022. "A significant part of them is irretrievably destroyed, and some damaged aircraft will take many years to rebuild," the SBU said. The Russian Defence Ministry says Ukraine targeted airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions and were repelled in the last three locations. Several aircraft caught fire in Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, it said. Russian officials said on Wednesday that military options were "on the table" for its response to Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and accused the West of being involved in them. The attack has bolstered Ukrainian morale after months of unrelenting Russian battlefield pressure and numerous powerful missile and drone strikes by Moscow's forces. While condemning other Ukrainian attacks at the weekend on Russian targets, President Vladimir Putin made no mention of the attacks on the airbases in his comments to senior Russian officials on Wednesday. However, influential Russian military bloggers have accused Russian authorities, especially the aerospace command, of negligence and complacency for allowing the nuclear-capable bombers to be targeted. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had decorated a number of SBU officers for Sunday's operation. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
