Nine people were killed after a man drove through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver on Saturday, April 26. A 30-year-old man was arrested at the scene, but police say they were confident it was not an act of terror.
Reuters
Nine people were killed and several others were injured Saturday after a man drove an SUV through a bustling Filipino street festival, striking people as the vehicle barrelled forward down a street lined with food trucks.
When the vehicle finally halted, a man tried to escape, witnesses said. Police confirmed in a news conference that festivalgoers apprehended the suspect before police arrived. The man who was arrested, age 30, is known to police.
Police confirmed the number of dead in a social media post early on Sunday morning.
“As of now, we can confirm nine people have died after a man drove through a crowd at last night’s Lapu Lapu Festival. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic incident,” Vancouver Police said in a post on X.
Police have not released an official number of injured people, but Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Sunday morning that more than 20 people were injured in the incident.
Witnesses described the scene in the early evening of a summer-like day, just after the festival’s main headlining act featuring members of the six-time Grammy-winning group Black Eyed Peas wrapped up. Some people ran screaming toward victims in an effort to help, witnesses said. Others were overcome with shock.
A witness’s video of the aftermath of the incident, broadcast live on social media and verified by The Globe and Mail, shows several individuals attempting resuscitation efforts on at least three people lying on the road as first responders make their way onto the scene.
Cries of “keep going,” “oh my God” and “Lord have mercy” can be heard as the video pans up the street. Several metres away, a black SUV with the driver’s-side door open is briefly visible on the scene. The woman who posted the video declined to speak further to The Globe and Mail.
Three eyewitnesses describe what they saw when a car struck revellers at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver on Saturday night.
The Associated Press
Another video posted on social media shows the same luxury SUV that came to a rest in the middle of the street beside a row of food trucks, its front bumper destroyed and the hood crumped in half. Witnesses confirmed the authenticity of the video to The Globe.
Hours after the incident, white tarps covering what appeared to be bodies were still on the roadway. Shoes, rolls of paper towels, a backpack, empty plates and other detritus left behind in the chaos littered the scene.
In midnight remarks on the street corner, Vancouver Police Interim Chief Steve Rai said there were multiple injuries and deaths, and said victims were taken to multiple hospitals in the region.
Vancouver Police Department Interim Chief Steve Rai speaks to the media near the scene of the mass casualty incident at the Lapu Lapu festival.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
When asked if the man was known to police, the chief responded: “The suspect was known to police in certain circumstances.” He declined to elaborate.
Police later said in a statement early Sunday morning that at this time, they are “confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism.”
Carayn Nulada said she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and shielded them with her body when the black SUV roared through the crowd, but her daughter – the children’s mother – suffered minor injuries.
“The car hit her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us because she is scared,” said Nulada, who described children screaming, and victims lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles.
A witness watches a social media video of the aftermath of the fatal incident.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Nulada was in Vancouver General Hospital’s emergency room early Sunday morning, trying to find news about her brother, who was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.
Two teenagers who were working at a store along the street said they saw the vehicle charge down the street.
“We just see him go full speed through a bunch of people. I saw a bunch of people go high up from the impact of hitting the car,” said Nic Magtajas, 19.
He said people were screaming, with some running to help and others frozen in shock.
“Pure mayhem as soon as it happened. It was so loud. … A lot of loud bangs, not to mention the engine.”
Jihed Issa, 17, was working in the store with Mr. Magtajas. He said the vehicle sped down to the end of the street.
“There was a lot of people panicking, bodies,” said Mr. Issa.
“I saw the car at the end of the street. It was stopped and there was smoke coming out of it.
“We couldn’t do anything.”
Vancouver Police attend to a damaged car believed to be involved in the deadly festival incident.Rich Lam/The Canadian Press
Carmela Sicat, 54, was working at a baked goods stand at the festival with her daughter when they heard the sound of an engine revving.
“It was like a big boom, like a bunch of fireworks” when it started hitting people, she said.
She and her daughter went running toward the sound.
“There were a bunch of people laying down in the streets,” said Ms. Sicat.
Aditi Narang was working at Vegan Fried Chicken and helped several victims, giving them water. She said one woman was crying, saying her friend had died after being pulled under the car.
Lovepreet Singh said he saw a group of security guards confronting the man he believed is the accused driver.
What we know so far about the Vancouver Lapu Lapu festival vehicle ramming
Filipino BC, which presented the event, said in a statement early Sunday morning that it is devastated for the families and victims.
“We are still finding the words to express the deep heartbreak brought on by this senseless tragedy.”
The organization urged the public not to share videos circulating online.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh makes a statement about the deadly incident at the Filipino street festival on Saturday. Mr. Singh had visited the event earlier that evening as part of a federal election campaign stop.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was campaigning at the festival earlier in the day, but had left by the time of the incident.
“Having been at the Lapu Lapu Festival, this is a festival with kids there and families there,” said a sombre Mr. Singh.
“I don’t have the words to describe the pain that I’m feeling now at the lives that were lost. … We don’t know the motives, we don’t know any of the details. But ultimately, this is something that targeted the Filipino community and the Filipino community right now is reeling.”
Liberal Leader Mark Carney, who is also Prime Minister, said on social media platform X that he was “devastated to hear about the horrific events” at the festival.
On Sunday morning, he said he was briefed on the incident overnight and would talk to the B.C. Premier and Vancouver Mayor that day.
“Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughter. Those families are living every family’s nightmare,” Mr. Carney said in Hamilton on Sunday.
“And to them and to the many others who were injured, to the Filipino-Canadian community, and to everyone in the broader Lower Mainland Vancouver, I would like to offer my deepest condolences and my wishes for strength and compassion in this tragic time.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on X that he was “shocked by the horrific news.”
Mr. Poilievre visited a Filipino church in Mississauga on Sunday and said all of Canada stands with their community in mourning.
“I hope that we can pray for those who’ve been lost and for those who survive in mourning, their loved ones, their brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, all of them will have a deep hole in their hearts today,” Mr. Poilievre said.
“We will try to fill it with the love of the entire country.”
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement that he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by what he called a “horrific incident” at the festival.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” he said.
B.C. Premier David Eby said in a post on X that he’s “shocked and heartbroken” to hear about the lives lost and those injured at the festival.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Sunday he was “shattered to hear about the terrible incident.”
Mr. Marcos said the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver was working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.
King Charles said he was saddened by the news.
“Both my wife and I were profoundly saddened to learn of the dreadful attack an utterly tragic loss of life in Vancouver, which took place as the Filipino community came together to mark the celebration of one of their most special festivals,” he said in a statement posted on X.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to all those whose lives have been shattered by such a desperate tragedy and we send our deepest possible sympathy at a most agonizing time for so many in Canada.”
Lapu Lapu Day is named after an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th century.
Saturday’s event was the second annual street celebration of Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver, and organizers had said it was an opportunity to mark “the enduring impact on Filipino values, notably the spirit of bayanihan – the collective community effort.”
With reports from Andrea Woo, Mike Hager, Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press and Reuters.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misspelled the names of Jihed Issa and Nic Magtajas. The Globe regrets these errors.