A 53-year-old white British man from Liverpool was arrested at the scene by police officers
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Merseyside Police cordon off The Strand
Merseyside Police cordon off The Strand(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Since news of the horrific incident in Liverpool's city centre broke last night, social media has been awash with questions regarding the identity of the driver and the circumstances behind what happened. Merseyside Police has already acted quickly in confirming that the man, suspected of being the driver when a car drove into dozens of people in the city centre in the wake of Liverpool's title winning parade, is a 53-year-old white British man from the local area.
However, as no one has yet been charged in relation to the incident, the police will not confirm the arrested man's name. However, the press are also restricted on identifying him as well.
In a landmark ruling in 2022, the Supreme Court held that, as a legitimate starting point, a person under criminal investigation has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and has the right not to be named by the press until charges are brought.
When someone is charged, the police usually release their name, street address and age, as the details are part of their legal identity and prevent people with the same name being wrongly identified as the suspect.
The incident happened at around 6pm yesterday, Monday, May 26 when the streets of the city centre were full of hundreds of thousands of Reds' supporters. The Reds players had been on a 15km bus tour of the city which finished with spectacular scenes on The Strand in the city centre.
A press conference last night confirmed that 47 people in total were injured in the incident, with 27 of them being taken to hospital. Four of the injured were children. Two people, including of the children, sustained serious injuries. Restaurant Riva Blu was turned into a makeshift emergency room, with paramedics spotted treating people inside.
Merseyside Police assistant chief constable Jenny Sims said: "Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision and it is vital that people do not speculate or spread misinformation on social media. I know that people will understandably be concerned by what has happened tonight.
"What I can tell you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not currently being treated as terrorism.
"We would ask that people refrain from sharing distressing footage from the incident online and please share any information directly with our investigation team."
Chief fire officer Nick Searle, from Mersey Fire and Rescue Service, added: "Firstly, our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this incident this evening. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were informed at 6.07pm, we immediately mobilised 3 fire engines to Water Street and were in attendance in 4 minutes.
"On arrival the crews were met with numerous injured people and 4 persons trapped under a vehicle. Our crews rapidly lifted the vehicle, removed people from beneath and passed them to our ambulance colleagues.
"We then worked with emergency service partners to ensure casualties received medical treatment and transport to hospital as quickly as possible. My fire crews will maintain a visible and reassuring presence in the coming days and weeks."
Liverpool council leader Cllr Liam Robinson said: "I would appeal for people please not to share the horrifying footage of the incident on social media - please if you have information forward it to Merseyside Police to help them with their investigation.
"We won't be commenting any further but will provide relevant updates as and when we know more and it is appropriate to.Once again, our hearts go out to all those affected.
"Liverpool is a city that has a proud history of coming together and supporting each other during challenging times. I've no doubt that will again be the case over the coming days and weeks."