UK man charged with 7 offences for driving into Liverpool crowds
Paul Doyle accused of dangerous driving, causing grievous bodily harm with intent
UK police on Thursday charged a 53-year-old man with seven offences for allegedly ramming a car into crowds celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title earlier this week.
The counts against Paul Doyle include dangerous driving and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, Merseyside Police assistant chief constable Jenny Sims told a press conference.
According to the BBC, Doyle is a businessman and a father of three. Neighbours described him as "a normal person" and "just a nice fella".
The attacker, driving a Ford Galaxy, followed an ambulance through a lifted roadblock before swerving into the crowds, police said Tuesday.
Police quickly ruled out terrorism, as well as releasing the suspect's ethnicity details in a rare move to quell misinformation online.
Police updated the total number of injured to 79 on Wednesday. At least four children were among those injured.
There were no fatalities.
"I'm pleased to say that the number of people in hospital is reducing as they continue to recover from the awful incident," said Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson.
Police said they were carrying out "extensive" investigations using closed-circuit video footage to ascertain how events unfolded on Monday, when hundreds of thousands of Reds fans had gathered to mark Liverpool's record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
Images on social media showed the car ploughing through a crowd, running over people and others bouncing off its bonnet.
Four people, including one child, were trapped under the vehicle, which had to be lifted to remove them, fire services said.
In other clips circulating online, the vehicle was seen being halted and swarmed by angry fans, who smashed the back windows as police sought to hold them back.
Water Street, where the car ramming took place, was re-opened to normal traffic on Wednesday after being closed since Monday's events.