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Rhyl Journal
27-05-2025
- Rhyl Journal
Keir Starmer issues statement after Liverpool parade crash
Starmer said the nation's thoughts are with the victims and the wider community. During Liverpool's Premier League victory parade, four children were among around 50 who were injured – including one child who was seriously hurt. At a press conference late on Monday evening, Dave Kitchin from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said 27 people were taken to hospital and 20 people were treated at the scene, with four children among the injured. 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… Since the incident on Monday in Water Street in the city centre, a 53-year-old man has been arrested. Merseyside Police said the suspect was the driver of the car, white, British and from the Liverpool area, and added that it was not being treated as terrorism. Today (May 27), Starmer said: 'Scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation, and my thoughts and the thoughts of the whole country are with all of those that are affected, those injured, which of course includes children, their families, their friends, the whole community, Liverpool fans everywhere. Four people remain in hospital (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire) 'Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool. I'd like to thank the first responders who did a fantastic job last night and continue to do so. There's now an ongoing investigation. I'm being kept updated, talking frequently to the mayor Steve Rotheram. But as I say, my thoughts and the thoughts of the whole country will be with everybody in Liverpool today.' Recommended reading: Starmer added that it is a 'matter for the police' that they gave details about the man who was arrested after a car ploughed into a crowd celebrating Liverpool's Premier League win. Asked if he would like to see similar details released in the future in similar cases, the Prime Minister said: 'That is a matter for the police and the investigation is ongoing so I think we need to leave that to them. 'I think today is a day really for thinking about all those impacted by this and being absolutely clear that we stand with them.'
New Indian Express
27-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Police say driver who plowed into Liverpool soccer fans acted alone, not believed to be terrorism
LONDON: A 53-year-old British man plowed a minivan into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans who were celebrating the city's Premier League championship Monday, injuring more than 45 people as shouts of joy turned into shrieks of terror. The driver arrested was believed to be the only one involved and the crash was not being investigated as an act of terrorism, police said. Ambulances took 27 people to the hospital, including two with serious injuries, and another 20 people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, said Dave Kitchin of North West Ambulance Service. At least four children were injured. Four of the victims, including a child, were trapped under the van and firefighters had to lift the vehicle to free them. A paramedic on a bicycle was also struck but was not injured. 'It has cast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day for the city,' City Council leader Liam Robinson said at a late night news conference. As the parade was wrapping up, a gray minivan turned onto the parade route and plowed into the sea of fans wrapped in their red Liverpool scarves, jerseys and other memorabilia. A video on social media showed the van strike a man, tossing him in the air, before veering into a larger crowd, where it plowed a path through the group and pushed bodies along the street before coming to a stop. 'It was extremely fast,' said Harry Rashid, who was with his wife and two young daughters as the minivan passed by them. 'Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.' Rashid said the crowd charged the halted vehicle and began smashing windows. 'But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,' Rashid said. 'It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.' Rashid said it looked deliberate.
Leaders
27-05-2025
- Leaders
Car Crashes into Crowd at Liverpool Parade, Injuring 45 People
A car crashed into large crowds of Liverpool fans on Monday while they were celebrating the city's Premier League championship and injured more than 45 people, according to France 24. A video on social media shows a gray minivan ploughed into at least one pedestrian and then veer into a larger crowd, creating a route through the group and throwing bodies along the street. The police have arrested the 53-year-old man who was driving the vehicle. Consequently, the police announced that they will not investigate the incident as an act of terrorism. The white British man was thought to be the only one involved in the incident, the police said. As for the injured, 27 people were taken to the hospital, with two suffering serious injuries, according to Dave Kitchin of North West Air Ambulance. Furthermore, another 20 people were treated at the scene for minor injuries. At least four children were injured. Around four victims were trapped beneath the vehicle and firefighters had to lift it to free them. One of those injured was a medic who had been on duty on a bicycle. Related Topics: Mo Salah Signs New Liverpool Deal Despite Saudi Interest Holders Real Madrid Face Liverpool in Revamped Champions League Will Mohamed Salah Leave Liverpool? Short link : Post Views: 59 Related Stories
Rhyl Journal
27-05-2025
- Rhyl Journal
What happened in Liverpool yesterday? 4 still hospitalised
Since the incident on Monday in Water Street in the city centre, a 53-year-old man was arrested. Four children were among around 50 who were injured – including one child who was seriously hurt. At a press conference late on Monday evening, Dave Kitchin from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said 27 people were taken to hospital and 20 people were treated at the scene, with four children among the injured. We 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. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident. We will continue to offer… Merseyside Police said the suspect was the driver of the car, white, British and from the Liverpool area, and added that it was not being treated as terrorism. Footage circulating online appeared to show people in the crowd following the Liverpool Football Club celebrations attempting to get close to the driver of the car, with one managing to open the driver's car door. Videos then appeared to show the driver close the car door before suddenly speeding up and veering into pedestrians on both sides of the crowded street. The clips posted on social media then showed people from the crowds attempt to chase the driver – with some kicking the vehicle and smashing the back window. Police officers quickly surrounded the car as witnesses attempted to stop the driver, who was eventually detained by police. In the latest update, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live this morning (May 27), Mr Rotheram said he was hopeful that those seriously injured 'pull through very, very quickly'. He told the broadcaster: 'The actual incident in Water Street will live with those people for all the wrong reasons, and that's where we have to really focus our minds. 'There are still four people who are very, very ill in hospital and we are hoping of course that they pull through very, very quickly.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Why There Are So Many Car-Ramming Attacks—and What to Do About It
A tent is erected by police on Water Street in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners parade on May 26, 2025. Credit - Danny Lawson—A driver on Monday evening plowed a minivan into a sea of hundreds of thousands of soccer fans celebrating Liverpool's victory in the Premier League, injuring more than 45 people, including at least four children. Fans wrapped in red scarves and dressed in the English team's jerseys were at a victory parade the day after the season's end when a grey minivan turned onto the parade route around 6 p.m. local time. The vehicle struck a man, throwing him into the air, then plowed through a larger group of people before coming to a stop, video on social media shows. The crowd reportedly charged the stopped vehicle and smashed its windows, but the driver continued driving through the rest of the crowd. In total, 27 people were taken to the hospital, including two with serious injuries, and 20 others were treated at the scene for minor injuries, according to Dave Kitchin of North West Ambulance Service. Police arrested a 53-year old white British man from the Liverpool area. Police say they do not believe the incident is terrorism-related but asked that people not speculate or share 'distressing content online' while the investigation proceeds. 'Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror,' British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement from Downing Street. It's the latest major vehicle-ramming incident to happen across the globe. In April, a 30-year-old man sped an SUV down a closed street into a crowd of people attending a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, Canada, killing 11. In February, a 24-year-old man killed a mother and her daughter and injured 37 others when he rammed his car into a union rallydemonstration in Munich, Germany. In January, a 42-year-old man drove a pickup truck into a crowd in New Orleans, La., in the early hours of New Year's Day, killing at least 15 in what police called an act of terrorism. In December, at least five people were killed and over 200 injured when a 50-year-old man rammed an SUV into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany. And in November, a 62-year-old man slammed a car into people exercising at a sports complex in Zhuhai, southern China, killing 35. Here's what to know about vehicle-rammings, why they're so dangerous, and what to do in case of an attack. Comprehensive data is limited, but according to a 2019 study from San Jose State University researchers, 70% of vehicle-ramming incidents up to that point had happened in the last five years. In 2016, vehicle-ramming attacks were the most lethal form of attack and accounted for more than half of all terrorism-related deaths that year. A string of high-profile attacks in 2016 and 2017 killed more than 100 people, the deadliest of which happened in Nice, France, on Bastille Day, July 14, 2016, when a man drove a rented truck through a seaside promenade, killing 86. In the past six months alone, there have been 15 vehicle-ramming attacks worldwide, not counting the latest in Liverpool, killing 71 people, according to the National Transportation Security Center. Part of why vehicle-ramming has become a more frequent method of choice for mass-casualty attacks is due to the relative ease in carrying it out. 'This tactic requires little or no training, no specific skillset, and carries a relatively low risk of early detection,' nonprofit global policy think tank Rand said. 'A car, a knife—these are everyday items, often it's very unclear that someone has bad intentions with them until it's too late,' Bart Schuurman, professor of terrorism and political violence at Leiden University, told Euronews in April. In cases of orchestrated terror attacks, using a vehicle lets people get around counter-terrorism efforts that make access to firearms and explosives difficult, Schuurman added. But not all cases are orchestrated by terrorist groups. Some incidents are mental health-related, like in Zhuhai, China, or they are ideologically-affiliated but committed by an individual. It's become a 'quickly adopted' method by right-wing extremists, for example, Schuurman said, such as when a white supremacist killed one and injured 35 people who were protesting against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in 2016 and when a 25-year old self-described 'incel,' drove a rental van into a crowd of mainly women in Toronto in 2018, killing 10 people and injuring 16. The diversity in perpetrators and their motivations poses an additional challenge to preventing attacks. A 2018 study on the 'imitative' quality of vehicle rammings found that car-ramming incidents offer a model in terms of 'the act itself, as something that is not merely an expression of an individual or an ideology, but something that has a lure and force all of its own.' 'It subconsciously becomes part of the repertoire of options for people to express their anger in some way and they get exposed to it through the vectors of the media and social media,' sociologist Vincent Miller, who co-authored the study, told DW News. 'The profile of the perpetrator is very hard to define. The main thing they have in common is the act,' he added. A 2021 report by Rand looked into how rental or vehicle-sharing schemes have been used in some attacks, such as was the case in the New Year's Day ramming in New Orleans. It suggested that limited collaboration between industry and law enforcement due to data protection constraints, a lack of industry-wide training when it comes to identifying a potential attacker, and insufficient security procedures during online booking can all make it harder to mitigate an attack. Pauline Paille, a Rand researcher focused on international security, told DW News that certain barriers to vehicle rentals could be implemented to mitigate against such attacks. These include stronger background checks and financial deposits, as well as geofencing—which uses location data to create virtual boundaries for cars—to block smart cars from turning into pedestrianized areas. Paille also said that urban areas could be redesigned to separate roads from footpaths. Vehicle barriers are already commonly used during large-scale outdoor pedestrian events such as festivals or parades as a mitigation strategy. The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency offers some guidance on how to prevent an attack or what to do if one happens. While the use of a car or other vehicle often means there are fewer indicators of an attack plot, CISA suggests looking out for the following and reporting them to authorities if they seem suspicious, particularly for vehicle rental business workers: Reported theft of large or heavy-duty vehicles Difficulty explaining the planned use of a rented vehicle Nervousness or other suspicious behaviour during a vehicle rental discussion, for example insistence on paying in cash Lack of or refusal to produce required documentation for a vehicle rental Difficulty operating, or apparent lack of familiarity or experience with, a rented vehicle Loitering, parking, or standing in the same area over multiple days with no clear explanation Unexplained use of binoculars, cameras, or recording devices around a certain area In case of a vehicle-ramming attack, pedestrians should: Run away from the vehicle and towards the nearest safe area If you fall, curl into a protected position and try to get up as soon as possible to avoid being trampled Seek cover behind any objects that eliminate the direct line of sight from the vehicle Call 9-1-1 and follow instructions from law enforcement and first responders Organizers of events should: Include clear signage for emergency entry and exit points, first-aid stations, and shelter locations Define the perimeter that requires access control for pedestrians and vehicles Restrict vehicular traffic through pedestrianized areas Use remote parking and shuttle services Use physical barriers like bollards, heavy planters, and barricades, to create standoff distances between large crowds and vehicles Consider positioning heavy vehicles around the perimeter of crowded areas to serve as an additional physical barrier Contact us at letters@
