British police investigate for terrorism in the explosion of a taxi in front of the Women’s Hospital in Liverpool on the day the UK celebrated Remenbrance Sunday. A passenger died while the driver, David Perry, managed to get out of the cockpit before it was engulfed in flames and was hospitalized. Four young people between the ages of 20 and 29 were arrested, searches were carried out in various places in the city and investigators collected “significant” elements.
Liverpool, a taxi bursts with a man on board: the moment of the explosion
Deputy Chief of Police of Greater Manchester Russ Jackson said the taxi driver picked up a passenger on Rutland Avenue yesterday morning and asked to be taken to the Women’s Hospital 10 minutes away. In view of the hospital, the explosion occurred. “Our investigations indicate that an IED was assembled by the taxi passenger” whose identity “we believe we know but cannot yet confirm.” “It is not clear why” the incident or why the hospital was in the crosshairs, Jackson added: “At the moment we cannot make any connection” with the Remembrance Sunday ceremony that was about to begin in the nearby cathedral, but “it is a track “.
Liverpool, a taxi explodes with a man on board: suspected terrorism. The images of the car on fire
Three young men – 29, 26 and 21 years old – were stopped at Sutcliffe Street in Kensington last night, joined by a fourth 20-year-old stopped this morning on Rutland Avenue in Sefton Park, where “significant objects” were found that require further research. . Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the taxi driver’s “incredible presence of mind and courage”, avoiding further comment on the case on which an investigation is underway; in the afternoon he will chair a Cobra emergency meeting. The mayor of the city, Joanne Anderson, said she was “really shocked” by what happened to the taxi driver and pointed out that the Liverpool community is “very good” at “huddling together”.
The video of the explosion
In a video defined as “shocking” by the British media, you can see, from what appears to be a shot of a closed circuit camera, the salient moments of the terrorist attack that took place yesterday in Liverpool, where the explosion of a bomb in a taxi caused the death of the passenger and alleged bomber, and the injury of the taxi driver. The vehicle swerves towards the entrance to the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and then stops a few meters from the reception. Then there is an explosion inside the taxi: a cloud of white smoke is released from the cockpit into the air as debris spreads around. Some witnesses rush to the taxi when black smoke begins to develop. The taxi driver, David Perry, is seen stunned out of the car and running away. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle is engulfed in flames. From the reconstructions made by the media, Perry would have noticed the intentions of the passenger and would have closed the doors to prevent the bomber from being able to get out and into the hospital. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has summoned the Cobra Emergency Committee in Downing Street this afternoon to discuss the terrorist attack in Liverpool with his ministers and law enforcement officials.