11 people killed, more than 20 hurt after SUV rams into Vancouver street festival

UPDATE, April 27 — Filipino neighborhood in mourning after driver rams into Vancouver competition, killing 11

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Eleven folks have been killed and a number of others injured after the driver of a black SUV slammed right into a crowd Saturday night at a road competition in Vancouver celebrating the contributions of the Filipino Canadian neighborhood, police say.

It occurred shortly after 8 p.m. PT, because the Lapu Lapu Day Block Celebration was winding down, after drawing as much as 100,000 folks via the day.

Steve Rai, interim Vancouver police chief, instructed reporters on Sunday that it was the darkest day within the metropolis’s historical past.

“The actions of a single person shattered our collective sense of safety,” he mentioned. “It is impossible to overstate how many lives have been impacted forever by this lone individual.”

Rai says police weren’t conscious of any threats to the Filipino neighborhood, or the occasion, beforehand.

“The vehicle that struck festival-goers approached the festival area from the west on East 43rd Avenue. It entered a small crowd, an enclosed area, and drove through the crowd,” he mentioned.

“There were hundreds of festival-goers still on the street and multiple people were struck by the vehicle.”

A 30-year-old Vancouver man is now in custody. Rai supplied no title as a result of prices haven’t been laid.

“The person we have in custody does have a significant history of interactions with police and health-care professionals related to mental health,” he instructed a briefing on Sunday.

In a assertion learn Sunday morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney mentioned greater than 20 folks had been injured.

Rai mentioned “it’s believed dozens of people were injured, some of them seriously,” and so they had been taken to 9 space hospitals. He mentioned the variety of useless “could rise in the coming days or weeks.”

He didn’t present particulars in regards to the victims struck by the Audi mannequin SUV, aside from to say they included “young people.”

Carney mentioned Canadians are heartbroken at what “police are describing as a car-ramming attack” that occurred throughout “an occasion to gather and to celebrate the vibrancy of the Filipino-Canadian community.”

He earlier posted on X that he’s “devastated to hear about the horrific events” in Vancouver and supplied his condolences to the “loved ones of those killed and injured.”

Vancouver Coastal Well being mentioned late Saturday it had confirmed a “code orange,” indicating a mass casualty occasion however was not in a position to affirm the variety of injured or useless. Shortly after 3 a.m. native time Sunday, Vancouver police mentioned on social media that there have been 9 fatalities.

Earlier, movies posted on social media confirmed emergency crews on the scene, with a number of folks mendacity on the bottom — some showing injured.

Rai, in a midnight information briefing, mentioned bystanders held the suspect till police might arrive. He mentioned the person was identified to police “in certain circumstances.”

Rai mentioned the occasion had been assessed and monitored for safety with stakeholders — together with these in command of rubbish vans used up to now to dam streets from site visitors. The investigation is ongoing and is being led by the Vancouver police main crime part.

“We are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism,” Vancouver police mentioned on X.

Lapu Lapu Day is called after an Indigenous resistance fighter within the Philippines who fought towards Spanish colonization within the sixteenth century.

Saturday’s occasion was the second annual road celebration of the day in Vancouver, and organizers had mentioned it was a possibility to mark “the enduring impact on Filipino values, notably the spirit of bayanihan — the collective community effort.”

After South Asians and Chinese language, the Filipino neighborhood is the third-largest cultural group in B.C. Statistics Canada says greater than 174,000 folks locally symbolize 3.5 per cent of the province’s whole inhabitants.

‘It was like a conflict zone’

Kris Pangilinan, a Toronto-based journalist, flew to Vancouver to attend the Lapu Lapu Day celebrations. He described the occasion as a gorgeous day full of great performances — however mentioned the aftermath has left him shaken.

“It’s something you don’t expect to see in your lifetime,” he instructed CBC’s Stephen Quinn.

Pangilinan mentioned the present was wrapping up, and the competition’s primary act — Filipino American rapper Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas — had already completed his set. Crews had been within the means of tearing down the stage, tents and vendor stalls when the incident occurred.

He mentioned crews lifted a barricade that had been blocking site visitors to permit a car to enter. Whereas some vehicles had been being guided fastidiously via the crowds, Pangilinan mentioned one automotive immediately plowed via the road at excessive pace.

“Then we realized what was happening and everybody started yelling,” he mentioned. “[The driver] just slammed the pedal down and rammed into hundreds of people. It was like seeing a bowling ball hit — all the bowling pins and all the pins flying up in the air.”

Pangilinan, who has beforehand labored in information, mentioned witnessing what occurred in particular person was overwhelming.

“As someone who worked in news, you get numb to seeing these things — but seeing it in real life is just shocking,” he mentioned.

“It was like a war zone…. There were bodies all over the ground,” he mentioned, including he noticed “countless” folks injured.

One other eyewitness, Joshua Polintan, expressed his anger over what occurred.

“I am mad at whoever did that because why would you do that?” he mentioned. “I don’t know if it was a hate crime … but it was just wrong.”

James Cruzat, a Vancouver enterprise proprietor, was on the occasion and heard a automotive rev its engine after which “a loud noise, like a loud bang.”

“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help,” Cruzat mentioned.

Organizer says assist obtainable

In an announcement posted on Instagram, Filipino B.C. mentioned it was devastated by the tragedy and urged these affected to hunt assist.

“We are still finding the words to express the deep heartbreak brought on by this senseless tragedy. We are devastated for the families and victims,” the publish learn.

The group inspired neighborhood members to verify in with each other and entry obtainable psychological well being sources.

“Victim services are available 24/7 for those who witnessed or experienced trauma by calling or texting 1-800-563-0808 or emailing [email protected].”

Mayor, politicians react

NDP Chief Jagmeet Singh made a marketing campaign cease on the competition and left minutes earlier than the incident occurred.

Singh mentioned his ideas are with the victims, their households and Vancouver’s Filipino neighborhood, “who were coming together today to celebrate resilience.”

“This is a festival with kids there. There are families there,” he mentioned. “I don’t have the words to describe the pain that I’m feeling right now thinking about the lives that were lost.”

Singh has in the reduction of on occasions deliberate in B.C. for the final day of campaigning for the federal election, going forward with only one look at a media briefing in Penticton.

Carney had been scheduled to spend a part of Sunday in British Columbia, however the Liberals have cancelled two giant rallies deliberate in Calgary and Richmond, B.C., in mild of the tragedy, a supply instructed CBC Information.

Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre mentioned on X, “My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack.”

They each thanked first responders.

B.C. Premier David Eby mentioned in a publish to X that he is “heartbroken” to listen to in regards to the lives misplaced and people injured on the competition.

Vancouver South MP Harjit Sajjan, who grew up within the neighbourhood and was a police officer in Vancouver for a number of years, arrived on the scene to indicate his assist.

“The community means so much to me and I was just wanted to be here for them,” mentioned Sajjan, a former minister of defence who isn’t searching for re-election.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim mentioned he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the “horrific incident.”

King Charles additionally despatched condolences in a publish on social media.

“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,” he mentioned.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. mentioned he’s “shattered to hear about the terrible incident.”

Vancouver Solar Run to go as deliberate

The Vancouver Solar Run, one of many greatest 10-kilometre runs in North America, is scheduled for Sunday. The occasion is predicted to see tens of 1000’s of members.

Interim police Chief Rai mentioned the occasion will happen as deliberate.

“There’s no change …. We will have a full robust deployment and it will occur as planned with security,” he mentioned.