Liverpool Car-Ramming Attack: Why such incidents are hard to prevent

In the latest reminder of however susceptible nationalist gatherings stay to vehicle-ramming incidents, a minivan tore done a jubilant assemblage successful Liverpool connected May 26, injuring much than 45 people—including children—during the city's Premier League triumph parade.

The attacker, a 53-year-old achromatic British man, was arrested, but authorities person said determination is nary denotation of terrorism, astatine slightest for now. Yet the incidental adds to a increasing database of ramming attacks that person plagued cities crossed the globe—from Vancouver to Munich, Magdeburg to New Orleans and Zhuhai. In conscionable the past six months, specified attacks person killed 71 people, according to the National Transportation Security Center. So wherefore are these attacks becoming much frequent? And wherefore are they truthful hard to stop?

1. Easy to Execute, Hard to Predict

Unlike bombings oregon coordinated shootings, car-ramming attacks necessitate nary blase weapons, nary precocious training, and often nary ceremonial planning. As Rand Corporation notes, “this maneuver requires small oregon nary training... and carries a comparatively debased hazard of aboriginal detection.” A conveyance is an mundane object. It doesn’t rise suspicion until it's already successful motion—and by then, it’s excessively late.

2. Not Just Terrorism—A Complex Web of Motives

While immoderate ramming in...