The incident happened yesterday evening
Last night, terrible news emerged that a car had crashed into a number of people in Liverpool city centre at the Liverpool FC trophy parade.
The city was full of football fans celebrating the club’s second Premier League win as a bus passed by with players aboard.
Councillor John Hughes estimated in excess of one million people were in attendance, beating the 750,000 present for the 2019 Champions League parade.
Here’s everything we know about the incident from start to current moment.
The alarm is raised
The first indication of a commotion in Liverpool city centre came just after 18:00 BST when police were first made aware of reports of a car hitting pedestrians on Water Street, just a few minutes walk away from Liverpool Docks.
Water Street, Liverpool. Credit: Google Maps.
Very quickly, videos began to circulate on social media of the incident which police have encouraged people not to share or view.
In a statement, Merseyside Police said: “We were contacted at just after 18:00 today, Monday 26 May, following reports a car had been in collision with a number of pedestrians on Water Street.
“The car stopped at the scene and a male has been detained.”
Following statements
At this time, there was still little known about the incident, and statements had started to be released.
The first notable one came from Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 19:33 BST on X.
He said: “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 the space they need to investigate.”
Half an hour later, at 20:05 BST, Liverpool FC released a statement too.
The club said: “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 our full support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident.”
Police then then released an updated statement giving more description of the driver.
They said: “A 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area had been arrested and that he was believed to be the driver.”
Evening conference
Just before 23:00 BST, a conference was held with Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance Service and Merseyside Fire and Rescue in attendance.
Police announced that the man arrested was suspected to be the driver, although did not categorically confirm this information, while they also said that the incident was not being treated as terrorism.
The Ambulance Service gave the first indication of impact when it shared that 47 people had been injured in the incident.
It said that 20 people had been treated at the scene while another 27 were taken to hospital.
Four children were injured, while two people seriously injured, one of which a child.
The Fire Service said they had to free four people from underneath a vehicle.
Present moment
As of now, the only news being reported on the incident remain eye-witness testimonies providing more insight on the situation.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, released a statement this morning saying there are “still four people who are very, very ill in hospital”.
“We are hoping of course that they pull through,” he added.
Asked whether that reflects an increase on the previous number of seriously injured – given by authorities last night as one adult and one child – he says: “No, not directly, but of course we’re in liaison with the police and with the ambulance services.
“Last night they had two gold command meetings – one was really late in the evening, so this morning I’ll get some updates.”