LONDON, May 26. /TASS/. A car drove into a crowd of people gathered in the heart of Liverpool for a parade celebrating the hometown club's Premier League championship, Merseyside Police said.
"We are currently dealing with reports of a road traffic collision in Liverpool city center. We were contacted at just after 6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. GMT) today, Monday, May 26, following reports a car had been in a collision with a number of pedestrians on Water Street. The car stopped at the scene. Emergency services are currently on the scene," police said.
The Daily Telegraph reported that 17 people were injured. The incident happened shortly after the conclusion of the Champions Parade, where thousands of people gathered in city's downtown area to cheer on the club's players. The players rode an open bus around Liverpool for several hours carrying the Premier League trophy.
Videos and photos circulating on social media show a black minivan driving quite fast through the crowd, swerving and hitting people until it was stopped. Other photos show people being led to ambulances on stretchers.
Police have taken the driver into custody, identified as a 53-year-old local man and UK citizen.
"We can confirm the man arrested is a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area. Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision," police said.
In April, Liverpool won its 20th English Premier League championship after beating rival Tottenham.
The office of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the head of government was informed about the incident. The prime minister said he was "shocked" by the incident.