A driver plowed into a group of partygoers attending a Filipino street festival on Saturday evening in Vancouver, British Columbia, killing at least nine people, according to the local authorities.
Vancouver police said earlier that they were investigating a “mass casualty incident” at a neighborhood block party. The police said they had taken “a lone suspect” into custody at the scene: the driver, a 30-year-old Vancouver man.
“At approximately 8:14 p.m. on April 26, a man drove into a large crowd of people attending the Lapu Lapu Day Festival near East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street,” the Vancouver police said in a post on social media. The annual event celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, a national hero in the Philippines.
“As of now, we can confirm nine people have died after a man drove through a crowd at last night’s Lapu Lapu Festival,” the police said in another post on social media early Sunday. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic incident.”
Vancouver police said in an email that investigators had ruled out terrorism as a motive, but they did not offer further details. Photographs published by news agencies showed what appeared to be a black SUV with significant damage to the front of the vehicle, and its airbags deployed.
In a news conference, Steve Rai, the interim police chief, did not address a possible motive for the incident but said the driver had been known to the police. Members of the crowd had subdued the man before officers got to the scene, he said.
The incident occurred less than 48 hours before federal elections were set to take place in Canada. When asked by reporters whether the incident was related to the elections, Mr. Rai said, “I don’t know anything about that.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said in a social media post that he was “devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening.”
“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver,” he said. “We are all mourning with you.”
Vancouver’s mayor, Ken Sim, said he was “shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident.”
Vancouver prides itself on being a diverse, multicultural city, with more than half of its residents identifying themselves as a “visible minority,” according to 2021 census data.
Lapu Lapu Day is an annual celebration in the Philippines, marking the memory of Datu Lapu Lapu, who stood up against Spanish colonization. In Vancouver, the festival was established as an annual event in 2023.