Police in the U.K. arrested a man who plowed through a crowd of Liverpool fans attending the soccer club’s Premier League trophy parade on Monday, injuring at least 47 people.
Merseyside police said in a statement that they received reports around 6 p.m. of a car colliding with pedestrians. The car was stopped, and the man who was arrested was identified as a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area.”
“We would ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident on Water Street in Liverpool city centre,” the statement read. “Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision. We would ask people not to share distressing content online.”
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims of the Merseyside Police said at a Monday press conference that the incident “is not being treated as terrorism.”
“We believe this to be an isolated incident and we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with it,” Sims said.
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The city was busy with thousands of fans celebrating Liverpool Football Club’s 20th top-flight league title. Video footage shows a car plowing through a crowd of people on the street during the parade.
“This gray people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us … It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car,” one fan, Harry Rashid, told the U.K.’s PA Media news agency.
At least 47 people were injured, including four children, the ambulance service confirmed. Twenty-seven were taken to the hospital for major injuries, while 20 others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
“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,” Liverpool Football Club said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident. We will continue to offer our full support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident.”
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scene “appalling” in a post on X on Monday.
“My thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” he added. “I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident.”
