Police say driver who plowed into Liverpool soccer fans acted alone, not believed to be terrorism

LONDON (AP) — A 53-year-old British man plowed a minivan into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans who were celebrating the city’s Premier League championship Monday, injuring more than 45 people as shouts of joy turned into shrieks of terror.

The driver arrested was believed to be the only one involved and the crash was not being investigated as an act of terrorism, police said.

Ambulances took 27 people to the hospital, including two with serious injuries, and another 20 people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, said Dave Kitchin of North West Ambulance Service. At least four children were injured.

Four of the victims, including a child, were trapped under the van and firefighters had to lift the vehicle to free them. A paramedic on a bicycle was also struck but was not injured.

“It has cast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day for the city," City Council leader Liam Robinson said at a late night news conference.

As the parade was wrapping up, a gray minivan turned onto the parade route and plowed into the sea of fans wrapped in their red Liverpool scarves, jerseys and other memorabilia. A video on social media showed the van strike a man, tossing him in the air, before veering into a larger crowd, where it plowed a path through the group and pushed bodies along the street before coming to a stop.

“It was extremely fast,” said Harry Rashid, who was with his wife and two young daughters as the minivan passed by them. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”

Rashid said the crowd charged the halted vehicle and began smashing windows.

“But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid said. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”

Rashid said it looked deliberate.

“My daughter started screaming, and there were people on the ground,” he said. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”

Liverpool fans had come out in the hundreds of thousands to celebrate the team winning the Premier League this season for a record-tying 20th top-flight title.

Peter Jones, who had traveled from Isle of Man, said he heard the car smash into the crowd and saw at least a half-dozen people down.

“We heard a frantic beeping ahead, a car flew past me and my mate, people were chasing it and trying to stop him, windows smashed at the back," Jones said. “He then drove into people, police and medics ran past us, and people were being treated on the side of the road.”

Police said they were conducting extensive inquiries to establish what led to the collision and asked people not to speculate or share “distressing content online.”

Police identified the suspect as white, in a possible decision to prevent misinformation from flooding social media.

Last summer, a teen in the nearby town of Southport killed three girls in a stabbing rampage at a dance class and wounded 10 others, including two adults. An incorrect name of the suspect was spread on social media and people said he was an asylum seeker. In fact, he had been born in the U.K. Rioting spread across England and Northern Ireland, targeting Muslims and refugees in hotels of asylum seekers and lasted about a week.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes appalling and hailed the bravery of rescuers.

“Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror," Starmer said. “The city has a long and proud history of coming together through difficult times. Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool.”

Liverpool Football Club's legacy is overshadowed by a disaster 36 years ago when 97 of its fans were killed in a stadium crush during a match against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. The tragedy was compounded by a coverup into the cause and missteps by police.

Supporters were denied the chance to publicly celebrate the club's last league title in 2020 due to restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This time, flag-waving fans braved wet weather to line the streets and climb up traffic lights for a view of Liverpool’s players, who were atop two buses bearing the words “Ours Again.”

The hourslong procession — surrounded by a heavy police presence — crawled along a 10-mile (16-kilometer) route and through a sea of red smoke and rain. Fireworks exploded from the Royal Liver Building in the heart of the city.

The team in a short statement said its thoughts and prayers were with those affected. The Premier League issued a similar statement expressing shock at the “appalling events in Liverpool.”

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to say that the match at Hillsborough was against Nottingham Forest even though it took place in Sheffield.

Crowds greet the Liverpool soccer team during their Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident after a car collided with pedestrians near the Liver Building during the Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Fans leave as Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident near the Liver Building during the Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Fans leave as Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident after a car collided with pedestrians near the Liver Building during the Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners parade, in Liverpool, England, Monday May 26, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners parade, in Liverpool, England, Monday May 26, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident near the Liver Building during the Premier League winners parade, in Liverpool, England, Monday May 26, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners parade, in Liverpool, England, Monday May 26, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Crystal Palace players celebrate with the trophy on stage at Selhurst Park during the FA Cup winners parade in London, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

The open-top buses arrives close to Liverpool Waterfront during the Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday May 26, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, left, and teammates on the team bus during the Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

Liverpool players on the team bus during the English Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

Crystal Palace fans try to sneak a peak inside Selhurst Park before the FA Cup winners parade in London, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Crystal Palace fans arriving before the FA Cup winners parade in London, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Katie McCabe holds the trophy during the Women's Champions League Winners parade in London, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)