Status: November 15, 2021 7:59 p.m.
After the explosion of a taxi in Liverpool, the British police assume an act of terrorism. The terror warning level was raised and a fourth person was arrested. Did the taxi driver prevent worse?
After the explosion of a taxi in Liverpool, Britain has raised the terror alert level to the second highest. The British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that the terrorist threat had been switched from “significant” to “serious”. A bomb had previously exploded in a taxi outside a hospital in Liverpool.
A man was killed in the incident on Sunday morning in front of a women’s clinic in the north-west English city when the car went up in flames. Another man – the taxi driver – was injured. He was reportedly released from the hospital on Monday.
Three arrests after the explosion outside a Liverpool hospital
Tagesschau 12:00 p.m., November 15, 2021
Fourth suspect arrested
Three men between the ages of 21 and 29 were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of terrorism. House searches took place in several parts of the city. The police said they were not ruling out anything about the background to the explosion.
A 20-year-old was also arrested on Monday. According to the head of the counter-terrorism unit in North West England, Russ Jackson, “significant items” were found at a second address in Sefton Park, near Kensington. The passenger is said to have got into the taxi there.
Identity of the dead still unclear
The fatality is, according to police, a male occupant of the car. He therefore died on the spot. The man has not yet been “formally identified”, according to police. The investigators believed, however, to know the identity of the passenger – but they did not want to disclose at this point in time, it was said.
The media speculated, citing alleged friends of the taxi driver, that the person killed was a passenger who was carrying an explosive device. According to the city authorities and media reports, the driver locked the passenger in front of the women’s clinic in the taxi after he looked suspicious. The vehicle exploded shortly afterwards, the driver was able to save himself slightly injured. The alleged bomb maker in the car died. The tabloid “Sun” already celebrated the driver as a hero.
“Heroic Efforts”
Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson praised the taxi driver for “his heroic efforts” in a BBC interview. “With his heroic behavior, the taxi driver managed to avert a potential disaster in the hospital that could have been utterly horrific,” said Anderson. She did not want to comment on details; But it was known early on that the driver had left the taxi and locked the doors, Anderson continued.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was premature to comment in detail on the incident as the investigation was still ongoing. “But it looks like the taxi driver in question acted with incredible presence of mind and bravery,” said Johnson.
Cathedral as a possible target?
The media identified an event to commemorate those who fell on Remembrance Sunday as a possible target of a foiled attack. Thousands of people were gathered in the nearby cathedral at the time of the explosion, reports said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his condolences to those affected by the “terrible incident”. “I would like to thank the emergency services for their quick response and their professionalism and the police for their ongoing investigation,” wrote Johnson on Twitter.