The news thread

[Buck_Mulligan]

^^^ An Everton supporter???

[Trollheart]

Um, not even funny, dude.

Speculation is always dangerous, but the Merseyside Police have said they're not, that's not treating this as a terror incident, though there's no consensus as yet. Witnesses report that the driver was sounding the horn as he drove into the crowd,  which seems an odd thing to do if you want to kill as many people as you can: a horn warns people to get out of the way. So it could be that he was drunk, or mentally unstable, or had a medical condition: we just don't know.

All we do know, at this point, is that he's white, local British man, 53 years old and that of the injured there are four children included, which is horrible. However they have confirmed they're not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident, and that nobody has died. More information as I get it.

[Psy-Fi]

If the meth and gators don't kill you, the lead poisoning will...

Meth-crazed Florida man is bitten by alligator, charges at cops with garden shears before he's shot dead in wild series of events

[jimmy jazz]

Um, not even funny, dude.

Speculation is always dangerous, but the Merseyside Police have said they're not, that's not treating this as a terror incident, though there's no consensus as yet. Witnesses report that the driver was sounding the horn as he drove into the crowd,  which seems an odd thing to do if you want to kill as many people as you can: a horn warns people to get out of the way. So it could be that he was drunk, or mentally unstable, or had a medical condition: we just don't know.

All we do know, at this point, is that he's white, local British man, 53 years old and that of the injured there are four children included, which is horrible. However they have confirmed they're not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident, and that nobody has died. More information as I get it.

My guess:

He's somehow found himself among the crowd and they've started attacking his car, he's shit himself and then lost it.

My mate said he saw his back window put through before he put his foot down.

[Trollheart]

It does seem to be playing out that way. I saw the footage where he first reversed at people, but it seemed more like he was trying to get away: someone looking to mow people down would just have gone straight ahead. All those people surrounding you and smashing your windows would certainly spook anyone. The question is: why was he there when the roads were supposed to have been closed off to traffic, and why, when he realised where he was, did he not just shut the engine off and wait for the cops to arrive? If he panicked, then a lot of people were injured because he couldn't hold it together and should not have been there in the first place.

Glad your mate is all right anyhow.

I did wonder, if this had been an actual planned event, why not go for London, where Palace were celebrating, or Spurs the previous week? London's a bigger and more political target. Or why not do all three? So I had some hope that it was accidental, a tragedy rather than an attack. Not that that helps those who were affected by it, of course.

[jimmy jazz]

I think he was on drugs. The police have charged him with drug driving anyway so would explain his impulsive behaviour.

London would have higher security I'd have thought. Security would be high anyway but London more so. There is also the reality that Liverpool are just far bigger and more well known than shit clubs like Tottenham. Either way irrelevant cos it doesn't look like a planned attack.

[Lisnaholic]

Here are some updates from the Beeb website that answer/confirm a couple of those questions:-

> A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven into a crowd in Liverpool on Monday, police say

>The 53-year-old, from Liverpool's West Derby, has also been arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit through drugs and dangerous driving offences

> Merseyside Police say 11 people remain in hospital but all are in a stable condition - more than 50 people received hospital treatment

> The suspected driver was able to follow an ambulance after a road block was lifted so a member of the public could be treated

[Trollheart]

Yes I'm seeing now that he followed an ambulance which had been responding to someone who had had a heart attack, but at the same time doesn't explain what the fuck he was doing in a car if he was on drugs. Much higher casualties than reported yesterday, 50 as opposed to 27, but only (!) 11 still in hospital and nobody critical, thank god.

Expect new legislation to be rushed through with tougher penalties for those who operate a vehicle under the influence of drugs. Have to stamp this kind of crap out. Someone who's high or under the influence has no business being behind the wheel of what Judge Judy correctly called a potential weapon.

[Jwb]

Is it true that they made sure to mention he was white so there wouldn't be any race riots?

[jimmy jazz]

Is it true that they made sure to mention he was white so there wouldn't be any race riots?

Yes.

But you need to consider why it's an issue in the first place. People were misled over Southport for example.

[Jwb]

I do understand, I was just curious if that's confirmed that's why they released it.  I heard James Obrien say so but I don't think I heard him cite a source beyond that he's checked with some unidentified people who supposedly know what they're taking about. So that's why I asked. I'm vaguely aware of the outline of the Southport example, though obviously I don't follow it as closely as someone who lives there. But I do know that Farage and Andrew Tate were a part of spreading that hoax.

[Trollheart]

I think it was vital that it was mentioned as early as possible, to counter any disinformation about it being Muslims or any immigrants. I see people on BBC now sort of moaning - would they be as quick to say it if the perpetrator wasn't white? It's quite pathetic really: another "white men getting racially profiled", but it's the truth, not any sort of attempt to blame white men. A fucking white man did it, so that has to be clearly announced. The police made the statement and it's been backed up. Very important, otherwise once the narrative is seized by those on social media with an axe to grind, it's very hard to change the perception.

[jimmy jazz]

I do understand, I was just curious if that's confirmed that's why they released it.  I heard James Obrien say so but I don't think I heard him cite a source beyond that he's checked with some unidentified people who supposedly know what they're taking about. So that's why I asked. I'm vaguely aware of the outline of the Southport example, though obviously I don't follow it as closely as someone who lives there. But I do know that Farage and Andrew Tate were a part of spreading that hoax.

Well there's an article just gone on the Telegraph where the police have said on this occasion they made the decision to release those details to avoid a similar situation.

[jimmy jazz]

I think it was vital that it was mentioned as early as possible, to counter any disinformation about it being Muslims or any immigrants. I see people on BBC now sort of moaning - would they be as quick to say it if the perpetrator wasn't white? It's quite pathetic really: another "white men getting racially profiled", but it's the truth, not any sort of attempt to blame white men. A fucking white man did it, so that has to be clearly announced. The police made the statement and it's been backed up. Very important, otherwise once the narrative is seized by those on social media with an axe to grind, it's very hard to change the perception.

I think the issue is that it isn't always announced straight away, which is why what happened in Southport could happen in the first place.

[Jwb]

I mean presumably it can happen again if the assailant is actually Muslim next time and they release that?