UK: Taxi explodes outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, declared a terrorist incident, 14 Nov 2021

[Ellmau]

Taxi driver 'locked suicide bomber in his car after spotting explosives' outside Liverpool hospital | Daily Mail Online

A taxi driver apparently locked a suicide bomber in his car after spotting explosives before a blast ripped through the vehicle outside a maternity hospital in Liverpool on Sunday.

The explosion, reported at 10:59am, came moments before the nation fell silent to mark Remembrance Day and killed the cab passenger and injured the driver.

The car passenger, a man, was declared dead at the scene and is yet to be formally identified. The driver, also a man, was injured and is being treated for injuries which police said are 'not life threatening'.

Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested the taxi driver averted disaster by locking his passenger inside. Stephen Thomas said online: ‘The taxi driver is my mate, and he spotted the passenger acting suspicious. He’s in hospital, luckily he escaped just before but he did suffer some injuries.’

 

[fred&edna]

Counter-terror police arrest three men over deadly car blast – live

 

[MrsWatson]

Liverpool Women’s hospital: three terror arrests after man killed in taxi explosion

Men detained under Terrorism Act after incident outside hospital that also injured taxi driver
The men – aged 29, 26 and 21 – were detained in the Kensington area of the city and arrested under the Terrorism Act, police said.

The cab driver, who managed to escape before the flames spread, has not been arrested. Police said he is in hospital in a stable condition.

The explosion happened outside the main entrance to the hospital, and police are trying to determine if the explosion was deliberate and whether there is significance in the location.

 

[fred&edna]

 

[Ched]

Liverpool Echo reporter on the scene . Lots oh his Twitter timeline .


Negotiators remain on the scene in Rutland Avenue - they weren’t able to tell me how long they think this may go on for, but it’s still ongoing

Clearly some kind of stand-off taking place and as we know it’s related to today’s shocking explosion at Liverpool Women’s Hospital

https://twitter.com/liamthorpecho/status/1459995091817357317?s=21

 

[Ched]

The Times front page . They are looking into the fact it’s near Liverpool cathedral. Remembrance Day 11.00am big gathering there obviously
https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1460012367748771840?s=21

 

[Ched]

Telegraph front page . It happened before car came to complete stop, being reported . Possibly detonator exploded not full charge . Unconfirmed reports taxi driver diverted to hospital (cathedral just a mile away)
https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1460006551461429252?s=21

 

[Ched]

More armed police arriving in Rutland Avenue - these reinforcements appear to be from Welsh forces

That’s a large number of armed officers now on the scene

We can’t give too much information about exactly what’s going on - the scene is further down the street but negotiators remain involved and more armed officers have arrived

https://twitter.com/liamthorpecho/status/1460009233928364037?s=21

 

[Angleterre]

This is only 28 miles away from me and the Women’s hospital is where I went to for my IVF fertility treatment. Also, Merseyside Police is my former Police force prior to my medical retirement so it’s all very close to home . I applaud the taxi driver who prevented further carnage. The intended destination was the Cathedral where the remembrance services were taking place. Liverpool has two Cathedrals in close proximity to one another- The Anglican Cathedral which is Church of England Protestant and The Roman Catholic Cathedral which the locals affectionately nickname ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’ due to its futuristic design which resembles the top of a wigwam. A very sad day ! I applaud my former colleagues for their swift response and for apprehending further suspects believed to be involved in the terrorist attack.

 

[Ched]

Liverpool Echo , scroll down for live reporting Live updates as bomb squad at Liverpool Women's Hospital

 

[Ched]

@gmpolice are leading on the updates because @TerrorismPolice in the North-West are based there. Between us we've arrested 3 men in connection with this incident. We won't be commenting on speculation and hope that people will follow our social media for accurate info.
https://twitter.com/merseypolice/status/1460021901997322242?s=21

 

[Ched]

Rutland Avenue in Liverpool is now being evacuated
https://twitter.com/politicsforali/status/1460027317724618754?s=21

One of the streets raided following the blast, Rutland avenue, has now been evacuated. More follows.
https://twitter.com/bbcnwt/status/1460026480327544834?s=21

 

[dotr]

 

[Ched]

Lots more armed police arriving in Rutland Avenue now - most of the street now taken up with vehicles containing armed officers

A huge scene now
https://twitter.com/liamthorpecho/status/1460044032588107780?s=21

(they can hardly fit all the armed police vehicles in the street now)

 

[dotr]

15:49 14/11/2021
https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ne...WZ0.6PRqGCmhrjQjp6wQ-1636946550-0-gaNycGzNB9E
''We can confirm that at 10.59am today (Sunday, 14 November) police were called to reports of a car explosion at the Women's Hospital in Liverpool city centre.

Police immediately attended, along with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Regional Ambulance Service.

Unfortunately, we can confirm that one person has died and another has been taken to hospital where he is being treated for his injuries, which thankfully are not life threatening.

So far we understand that the car involved was a taxi which pulled up at the hospital shortly before the explosion occurred.

Work is still going on to establish what has happened, and could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything.

We are keeping an open mind as to what caused the explosion but given how it has happened, out of caution, Counter Terrorism Police are leading the investigation supported by Merseyside Police.

The emergency services have well-rehearsed plans for dealing with major incidents. Our response is ongoing at the hospital and will be for some time. Cordons are in place, and there are some road closures.

We have triggered our information channels - to inform the local community and businesses about what information we do have and can provide

We would urge the public to remain calm (but vigilant). To keep updated on what is happening, keep watching the news and checking the Merseyside Police website.

If you have not done so already, sign up to the Merseyside Police Twitter feed @merseypolice

We would like to thank the public for their patience and their cooperation today which has already greatly assisted our policing response.

We will issue updates as soon as we have more information.

This has not been declared a terrorist incident at this stage although out of caution CT detectives are leading as we try to understand the circumstances behind the explosion''

Liverpool explosion: Three arrested under Terrorism Act after car blast at hospital
''At the scene
By Jim Clarke, BBC North West Tonight deputy editor
The first raid happened at about 13:00 GMT on Rutland Avenue in the Sefton Park area of the city. It's about 0.75 miles from the hospital. It's an area of the city with large Victorian houses.

The house that was raided had been split up into flats. Local residents said they had not seen anybody coming or going from the property for some weeks - they thought it was unoccupied. The street remains cordoned off and some residents have been evacuated.

Police were also seen at Boaler Street in the Kensington area of the city. It's about a mile away from the hospital.

Eyewitnesses on the street said armed police arrived at about 14:00 GMT and raided a house. They said they saw two men being arrested and handcuffed. They were led by armed officers into a car. That street also remains cordoned off.

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, of Merseyside Police, sought to reassure the public, saying events of this nature were very rare and that there would be an increased and visible police presence on the streets in the coming days.''

 

[JuicyLucy]

The taxi driver: what a hero.

 

[Ellmau]

Pictured: Taxi driver 'who locked suicide bomber in his car' outside Liverpool hospital | Daily Mail Online

A taxi driver was hailed as a hero last night after locking a suspicious passenger in his cab moments before the vehicle blew up outside a hospital in what police are probing as a potential Poppy Day terror attack.

The explosion destroyed cabbie David Perry's car in a fireball outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital, seconds before the 11am minute's silence was due to take place.

The male passenger, who had asked to go to the city's Service of Remembrance at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral less than a mile away, was the only person killed.

Amazingly married father-of-two Mr Perry, who was standing nearby, suffered just cuts, bruises and damage to his ear drum. Last night he was discharged from hospital, friends told MailOnline, while bomb squad remained at the site.

Rutland Avenue operation ended at 3.30 am but is still cordoned off. The men arrested are not from Rutland Avenue:

three men aged 21, 26 and 29 were arrested as armed officers stormed a home in the inner-city Kensington area of Liverpool within 90 minutes of the explosion. They were being quizzed overnight.

One Kensington resident, 21, said: 'They grabbed two men and handcuffed them behind their backs.' Chris Lee, 31, said: 'They were bundled into the van. They had grabbed them from one of the houses. I had never seen them before.'

Sections of Boaler Street and Sutcliffe Street remained cordoned off, with a heavy police presence at the scene as inquiries continued today.

Sources said the experienced cabbie picked up a fare who initially asked to be taken to Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, half a mile from the hospital, where a Remembrance Sunday parade ended and a memorial event featuring thousands of servicemen, veterans and dignitaries was being held.

'They couldn't get there, the roads were blocked off,' one friend of Mr Perry said. 'The man changed his mind and asked to go to the city centre instead.

'But when they were going past the Women's Hospital he said to pull in there. It was just before 11. David noticed the man had some kind of light attached to his clothing and was messing around with it, it didn't look right at all.

'I don't know how he's done it with a split second's thought but David's jumped out and locked the car with this guy in the back. As soon as he did, it's gone off. David's the luckiest man in Britain as well as the most heroic, if this guy got in the hospital God knows what could have happened.'

Another friend added: 'David suffered cuts and bruises, a perforated ear drum and needed stitches in his ear. He'll be sore in the morning but he's home. I'm just glad no new babies were leaving at the time. For David to have probably been terrified and think so fast and then end up OK – it's amazing.'

 

[Ched]

Oh my goodness. Video of the explosion , taxi still moving when bomb went off
https://twitter.com/darrenmccaffrey/status/1460185821387051010?s=21

 

[Ched]

Longer video of taxi . I think I see the driver get out after explosion & high visibility vest man running to him . Moment driver escapes car explosion at Liverpool Women's Hospital

 

[Alyce]

The taxi driver: what a hero.

absolutely, feel very proud and grateful to a fellow scouser for his heroic act and wishing him a speedy recovery