Questions over how a car was able to evade security barriers and mow down Liverpool supporters during their title celebrations must be answered “as soon as possible”, local leaders have said.
The suspect in the Liverpool parade crash was on drugs and tailgated an ambulance to get around a road block and hit football fans, police believe.
At least 65 people were injured – including four children – when a Ford Galaxy collided with fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League victory on Monday evening.
Of those, 11 remain in hospital, though all are in a stable condition, police said.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims has promised to deliver “justice” to victims of the “devastating” incident.
Here The i Paper looks at the questions that remain over the attack.
The incident unfolded between Dale Street and Water Street in the city centre, a road which was closed to vehicle traffic.
ACC Sims said Merseyside Police had a “robust” traffic management plan in place for the event.
However, police have established that the Ford Galaxy was able to tailgate an ambulance which entered Water Street to help a person who had suffered a suspected heart attack.
It is understood the traffic barrier was being managed by a third party event organiser and not police officers.
Crime Scene Investigators at the scene of the Liverpool FC parade incident on Water Street (Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)It is currently not clear exactly what kind of barrier was in place, but it was moved when the ambulance signalled it needed to get through.
Local authorities, including the police and council, are now facing questions as to how the vehicle ended up in the crowd in the first place.
“That’s the big question in all honesty and and it’s a question that I think most people want answered as soon as they possibly can,” said Liverpool City Mayor Steve Rotheram, talking to reporters at the scene.
“Water Street is not a route where vehicles were supposed to be using it, it was blocked off.
“And at this end of it [pointing to The Strand] – there were literally hundreds of thousands of people here, so no vehicle would have got through anyway.
“And the questions I suppose are legitimate, but we have to give the police the time to conclude their investigations, which is what they’re doing.”
Who is the suspect and why did he tailgate an ambulance?
A 53-year-old man, who is white British and from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs.
Police have been granted an extension on the time limit for questioning him in custody until Wednesday lunchtime.
“There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place,” Asst Chief Constable Sims told a press conference on Tuesday.
It is understood that detectives are carrying out “extensive” work to establish where the Ford Galaxy car came from before it tailgated the ambulance onto Water Street.
Detectives will be looking to establish whether this was purposeful or whether something else prompted the driver’s behaviour.
Footage appears to show people reacting angrily to the car being among the crowd on Water Street.
Some appear to hit, kick and attempt to damage the Ford Galaxy before it accelerates into pedestrians.
One video clip shows the driver holding down the horn before he speeds off into the crowd.
Friends Gil Shternberg, 40, of Tel Aviv, Israel and Christian Willemsen, 45, of Holland, lifelong Liverpool fans, told The i Paper they could not understand why the car was in the street in the first place.
Gil Shternberg and Christian Willemsen were at the parade when the incident took place (Photo: Aasma Day / The i Paper)“We saw lots of police cars and helicopters and understood something serious was happening,” said Christian. “We were shocked.”
Gil added: “People came to Liverpool from all over the world to be a part of this joyful celebration and instead, it ended in such a terrible way. The car should not even have been there in the first place.”
With Liverpool having led the Premier League for much of the season, the parade on Monday afternoon had been months in the planning.
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Liam Robinson, Labour leader of the council, told The i Paper there had been a “very detailed” planning process involving emergency services and the football club.
He said questions over how the car had ended up in the crowd were “very understandable” and that the council was now working “very, very closely with Merseyside police” over the investigation.
“We would ask any members of the public who have got any information to give that to police so we can get that exact clarity over everything that transpired,” he added.
Kim Johnson, the MP for Liverpool Riverside, said she has “no idea” how the car ended up in the middle of the crowd.
“I have no idea how that [car] got there, you know, Liverpool City Council and our emergency services are well-versed in terms of supporting these types of large events and safeguarding the public with these types of events,” she told The i Paper.
“I have no idea at this moment in time how that car again up to the police to undertake their inquiries.”
What do we know about the victims?
Police said that in total 65 people – including four children – were injured in the incident.
Of those, at least 50 people had to be taken to hospital for treatment. Eleven people remain in hospital but all are in a stable condition, Asst Chief Constable Sims said.
Their identities are not yet known.
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