Vancouver: 11 dead as car drives into street festival crowd in Canada

The vehicle entered a street in Vancouver where the Lapu Lapu Day festival was taking place just after 8pm local time on Saturday. A number of people were also injured and police have warned the death toll could go up.

A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene and the department’s Major Crime Section is overseeing the investigation, police said.

Police said on Sunday they are “confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism”.

Interim Vancouver police chief Steve Rai told a news conference a man was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.

Video circulating on social media shows a young man in a black hoodie with his back against a chain-link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.

“I’m sorry,” the man says, holding his hand to his head.

Mr Rai declined to comment on the video but said the person in custody was a “lone male” who was “known to police in certain circumstances”.

The festival was held in a South Vancouver neighbourhood.

Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground.

A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in photos from the scene.

James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the event and heard a car rev its engine and then “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought might be a gunshot.

“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help,” he said. “We tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others injured.

“It was terrible to see that kind of incident, that situation. It was heartbreaking.

“I couldn’t even imagine that it’s actually happening in real life, because normally we see that on TVs or movies. But when you are in that kind situation, it was really shocking. Like, you couldn’t think really, really well. You couldn’t do anything but to pray for them.”

Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said in on social media: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

He said city officials would provide more information when possible.

Vancouver had more than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of the city’s population, according to Statistics Canada which conducts the national census.

Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century.

The organisers of the Vancouver event said he “represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonisation”.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian political figures posted messages expressing shock at the violence, condolences for victims and support for the community celebrating its heritage at the festival.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver,” Mr Carney said. “We are all mourning with you.”

Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party who was at the festival earlier in the day, said: “As we wait to learn more, our thoughts are with the victims and their families – and Vancouver’s Filipino community, who were coming together today to celebrate resilience.”

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said: “My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack. Thank-you to the first responders who are at the scene as we wait to hear more.”

David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, the province where Vancouver is located, said he was shocked and heartbroken. “We are in contact with the City of Vancouver and will provide any support needed,” he added.