Sunday should’ve been a joyous day in Liverpool, England, as the city celebrated its soccer team winning the English Premier League title. But Liverpool’s victory parade was marred by chaos when someone drove a minivan through a crowd of spectators, leaving nearly 80 people injured. This incident follows several others across the globe, including a car attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve that left at least 15 people dead. Are car rammings becoming more common?
Northeastern University research professor of criminology James Alan Fox said these types of attacks are still “quite rare,” but might be coming about as crimes of opportunity. “Anyone with a car can do this,” Fox said. “They have the means … whereas not everyone has a firearm. Some people are prohibited from buying them, a felon, for example, but a felon can get a driver’s license. … If your objective is to wreak havoc on lots of people, with a car or a truck it’s certainly possible to kill or maim dozens. It doesn’t take much planning.”
