The suspect who allegedly ploughed a car into a crowd at Liverpool's victory parade is accused of attempted murder, dangerous driving offences and driving under the influence of drugs.
Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said the force believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.
The force's detective chief superintendent Karen Jaundrill told reporters there were a total of 65 confirmed casualties following the incident on Water Street in the city centre yesterday.
A press conference also heard 50 people were taken to hospital and are receiving ongoing treatment as a result of the incident, but all appear to be recovering well.
Watch: Eyewitness describes 'horrific' Liverpool incident
A total of 11 people remain in hospital for ongoing treatment and are in a stable condition, Ms Sims added.
At a press conference, Ms Sims said: "It is believed the driver of the Ford Galaxy car involved in this incident was able to follow an ambulance onto Water Street after the road block was temporarily lifted so that the ambulance crew could attend to a member of the public who was having a heart attack."
She added: "There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place."
A 53-year-old man was arrested after the incident and four children were among those who were injured - including one child who was seriously hurt.
The force said the suspect was the driver of the car was white, British and from the West Derby area of Liverpool, adding that he remains in custody where he is being interviewed.
Speaking to reporters at the scene earlier today, Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said questions about how the car was able to enter the road were "legitimate".
He said: "Water Street was not a route where vehicles were supposed to be using it, it was blocked off.
"At this end of it, which is the direction that it was coming in, towards The Strand, there were literally hundreds of thousands of people here, so no vehicle would have got through anyway.
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"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."
Up to one million fans had lined the streets to celebrate as the Liverpool team moved through the city centre with the Premier League trophy on an open-top bus.
Chaos erupted on Water Street, about a 1.6km before the parade's endpoint. The bus had only recently passed the attendees when a vehicle rammed into the crowds, witnesses reported.
Footage of the incident, which was circulating online, appeared to show the car speed up as it veered into pedestrians on both sides of the street, with people knocked to the ground or darting out of the way to avoid harm.
Officers surrounded the car as witnesses attempted to stop the driver, who was eventually detained by police.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said four people who were trapped under the car, including a child, were rescued by firefighters.
At a press conference last night, Dave Kitchin from North West Ambulance Service, said 27 people were taken to hospital and 20 people were treated at the scene, with four children among the injured.
He said two of those taken to hospital, including one of the children, suffered serious injuries.
Mr Kitchin said some patients had also taken themselves to local hospitals.
Watch: North West Ambulance Service says four children among those injured
Liverpool FC chief executive Billy Hogan thanked supporters who "helped each other where they could", adding: "We continue to work with the emergency services and the local authorities to support their ongoing investigation, and once again we would ask if anyone has any further information about the incident, please contact Merseyside Police."
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who attended the parade, said he was "shocked and devastated".
He said in a post on Instagram: "My family and I are shocked and devastated. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are injured and affected.
"You'll never walk alone."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this morning that scenes of joy had "turned to utter horror and devastation, and my thoughts and the thoughts of the whole country are with all of those that are affected, those injured, which of course includes children, their families, their friends, the whole community, Liverpool fans everywhere.
"Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool. I'd like to thank the first responders who did a fantastic job last night and continue to do so.
"There's now an ongoing investigation. I'm being kept updated, talking frequently to the mayor Steve Rotheram. But as I say, my thoughts and the thoughts of the whole country will be with everybody in Liverpool today."
Mr Starmer has said that it is a "matter for the police" that they gave details about the man who was arrested after the incident.
Former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu has said that the speed at which police released the race and ethnicity of the suspect is "unprecedented.
The force was criticised in the wake of the Southport murders last summer for not releasing more information after false rumours were started online that the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Mr Babu told BBC Radio 5 Live that he believes the information released by the police last night "was to dampen down some of the speculation from the far-right that sort of continues on X even as we speak that this was a Muslim extremist and there's a conspiracy theory."
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has expressed his "deep sympathies" to people of Liverpool, "particularly those impacted by the horrific event last evening."
Speaking in his way into Cabinet this morning, Mr Martin wished all of those injured "the quickest recovery."
He said that Liverpool supporters had been celebrating "what was a wonderful achievement for the club."
"To have the night end in that manner is truly appalling," he said.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said he "joined with people right across Ireland sending his thoughts to the people of Liverpool" at what he said was a "difficult and devastating time."
Mr Harris said he was particularly thinking of all those "injured, particularly the around 50 in hospital, including four children."
Mr Harris said that a night that was meant to be one of "jubilation turned to a night of horror".
He said there has always been a "very close affinity between the city of Liverpool and the people of Ireland".
Watch: Merseyside Police say Liverpool incident 'not being treated as terrorism'
The Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable said a "robust" traffic management plan had been in place for the parade.
Ms Sims said: "In the lead-up to this event, we had been working closely with event organisers and a robust traffic management plan was put in place for the parade, which included a number of road closures throughout the route and the city centre."
She urged people to refrain from sharing "distressing footage" from the incident online, but called for videos to be passed on to the police.
Ms Sims called it a "horrific incident" and thanked the emergency services, partner agencies and members of the public who came to the assistance of the injured following the "shocking incident".
"This had been a joyous day in Liverpool with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets to celebrate Liverpool Football Club's victory parade," she added.
Liverpool FC said in a post on X that the club was in "direct contact with Merseyside Police" regarding the incident.
"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."
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.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 26, 2025
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident.
We will continue to offer… pic.twitter.com/xreiSqiEnL
Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters when he witnessed the collision.
"This grey people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us," Mr Rashid said.
"It was extremely fast. Initially," he said, adding they heard "people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car".
Additional reporting Laura Fletcher
