Vancouver police examine against the law scene after a person drove into pedestrians on the annual Lapu Lapu pageant celebrating Filipino tradition, at East forty third Avenue and Fraser, within the south of Vancouver on April 26, 2025.
Don Mackinnon | Afp | Getty Photographs
At the very least 11 folks have been killed and dozens injured when a person with a historical past of psychological well being points rammed an SUV by way of a crowd at a Filipino group pageant within the western Canadian metropolis of Vancouver, police mentioned on Sunday.
Police arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver man on the scene of the incident on Saturday night, describing him as having had a “vital historical past” of interactions with authorities involving psychological well being. They mentioned there was no proof of terrorism.
“That is the darkest day in our metropolis’s historical past,” Vancouver Interim Chief Constable Steve Rai informed reporters at a Sunday press convention.
He mentioned dozens of individuals have been injured, some significantly, and warned that the dying toll may rise in coming days and weeks.
Greater than 100 cops joined the investigation, as native officers labored with provincial and federal authorities to offer help companies. Messages of condolence and help got here from throughout the globe.
“The group will really feel this for a very long time,” RJ Aquino, chair of the group advocacy group Filipino BC, informed reporters. “We need to inform all people that we’re grieving. We need to inform all people that we see and listen to the help from around the globe at this level.”
The assault on Saturday night passed off two days earlier than Canada’s federal election on Monday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s marketing campaign actions have been delayed on Sunday morning however he resumed campaigning after making an announcement during which he expressed his condolences to the nation’s Filipino group.
Steve Rai, Vancouver Police interim police chief, speaks throughout a information convention that there had been a car and a suspect concerned in an incident on the annual Lapu Lapu pageant celebrating Filipino tradition, at East forty third Avenue and Fraser, within the south of Vancouver on April 26, 2025.
Don Mackinnon | Afp | Getty Photographs
“Final night time, households misplaced a sister, a brother, a mom, a father, a son or a daughter. These households reside each household’s nightmare,” he informed reporters in Hamilton, Ontario.
“I be a part of all Canadians in mourning with you. I do know that Canadians are united with you,” he mentioned.
Greater than 12 hours after the incident, police nonetheless didn’t have a motive for the assault on the pageant, which passed off with out a devoted police presence or heavy car obstacles.
“There have been no identified threats to the occasion or to the Filipino group,” Rai mentioned.
The suspect was initially chased down and held by festival-goers till police arrived, witnesses mentioned. The injured have been taken to a number of hospitals, police mentioned.
The incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. (0300 GMT) in Vancouver’s Sundown neighborhood, an space identified for its giant Asian inhabitants, the place the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Get together, celebrating a Philippine nationwide hero, was going down.
One witness informed CTV Information he noticed a black car driving erratically within the space of the pageant simply earlier than the group was struck. A photograph of the aftermath posted on-line confirmed a darkish Audi SUV with each entrance fenders crumpled and the hood pushed up towards the car’s windshield.
Whereas mass casualty assaults are far much less frequent in Canada than in the US, such incidents have occurred with some regularity north of the border.
At the very least two of these assaults concerned motor automobiles. In 2021, a person killed 4 members of a Muslim household by operating them over with a pickup truck. In 2018, a person drove a rented van right into a lunch-hour crowd in Toronto, killing 10 folks and injuring 15 alongside a sidewalk thronged with pedestrians.
‘Horrific’
On-line pictures from the scene in Vancouver confirmed the our bodies of victims on the pavement alongside a row of colourful meals vehicles as others attended to them on a roadway affected by particles together with what seemed to be a motorized scooter.
A witness who didn’t want to be recognized mentioned he had seen about 15 folks mendacity on the bottom after the SUV plowed into the group. The witness mentioned the driving force tried to run however was chased down and held towards a fence for about 10 minutes till police arrived.
“I did not get to see the driving force, all I heard was an engine rev,” Yoseb Vardeh, co-owner of meals truck Bao Buns, mentioned in an interview with Postmedia.
“I acquired outdoors my meals truck, I regarded down the highway and there is simply our bodies all over the place,” mentioned Vardeh, his voice breaking with emotion. “He went by way of the entire block, he went straight down the center.”
The assault got here on the finish of the pageant, following a live performance headlined by Filipino-American rapper Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas, in response to Mable Elmore, a member of the British Columbia Legislative Meeting, who attended the occasion.
“Everyone was joyful and on the point of go. And that is when, that is when the incident occurred,” Elmore informed reporters by way of tears.
“We’re in unimaginable ache,” she mentioned. “We’ll come collectively out of this disaster by way of the help and the love from the broad group.”
The pageant, celebrated particularly within the central Philippines, honors Datu Lapu-Lapu, a Filipino chieftain who defeated Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan within the Battle of Mactan in 1521.
The federal government of British Columbia formally acknowledged April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, acknowledging the cultural contributions of the Filipino-Canadian group, one of many largest immigrant teams within the province.
The centerpiece of the pageant is a multi-block avenue celebration that includes Filipino meals and traditions, reside performances and cultural shows.
