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Police arrested the driver of a minivan on Monday after he allegedly plowed into a crowd of Liverpool, United Kingdom, soccer fans who were celebrating the city’s soccer team’s Premier League Championship, according to police.
Merseyside Police said in a post on X that it was investigating reports of a collision in Liverpool city center, after being contacted after 6 p.m. on Monday that a car had collided with multiple pedestrians on Water Street.
Police added that the vehicle stopped at the scene and a man was detained.
“We would ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident on Water Street in Liverpool city centre,” police said in another post. “We can confirm the man arrested is a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area. Extensive [inquiries] are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision.”
Police asked the public to not share “distressing content” online, but instead to send the footage or information to the Merseyside Police or to Crimestoppers.
Liverpool players on the team bus during the English Premier League winners’ parade in Liverpool, England, Monday. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Rashid told the AP that after the van struck its initial victims, it stopped and the crowd charged the vehicle, smashing its windows.
“But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid said, alleging the incident appeared deliberate. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”
Police and emergency personnel respond to an incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners’ parade, in Liverpool, England, Monday. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
“My daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground,” he added. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.