Nearly a dozen people were killed and many were injured after a man drove into a crowd at the Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, police said Sunday.
According to Vancouver Police, a man drove into a large crowd of people gathered for the Lapu Lapu Day festival around 8:14 p.m. Saturday. Police said Sunday afternoon that 11 people had died and more were injured after the incident.
“Our hearts are with all of the victims, their loved ones, and everyone who has been impacted by this act of violence. This is the darkest day in our city’s history,” Vancouver Police wrote on social media platform X.
The suspect, a 30-year-old Vancouver man, was arrested at the scene and has been taken into custody.
Vancouver authorities said earlier Sunday they were investigating the case but “at this time” they did not believe it to be an act of terrorism.
Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai said at a press conference that a man was arrested after he was initially apprehended by bystanders, The Associated Press reported.
During the press conference, Rai said it was believed the man was acting alone and he is someone who was “known to police in certain circumstances,” the news service reported.
Rai said it was “fair to say” the suspect was a Vancouver resident and the vehicle was owned by someone “associated with that family,” CBC reported.
Among the deceased were both males and females and included some “young people,” Rai said.
Multiple videos posted online appear to show victims and debris strewn on a long stretch of road, with several people lying on the ground of the South Vancouver neighborhood. The vehicle driven by the man, a black SUV, had a crumpled front.
The suspect was being held in a cell by Vancouver Police after being removed from the site of the incident, police said.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a post on X that he was shocked and deeply saddened by the incident.
“We will work to provide more information as soon as we can, but at this time @VancouverPD have confirmed there are a number of fatalities and multiple injuries,” Sim said. “Our thoughts are will all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this time.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also said he was devastated to hear the news and said he was monitoring the situation closely.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver,” Carney said online. “We are all mourning with you.”
The celebration was in honor of Datu Lapu-Lapuannd Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers in the 16th century in the face of colonization.
Vancouver, which is part of the British Columbia province, has recognized the celebration since 2023 in honor of the large Filipino immigrant community in the area.
It was the first mass killing involving a vehicle in Canada since 2021, when a far-right extremist drove a pickup truck into members of a Muslim family, The New York Times reported.
Updated: 3:14 p.m.