Vancouver street festival: multiple casualties as car is driven into crowds at Lapu Lapu celebrations – latest updates | Canada
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Police investigating a 'mass casualty incident' after several people killed by car driven into crowd in Canada
Several people were killed when a driver ploughed a car into a crowd at a street festival on Saturday in the Canadian city of Vancouver, local police said.
Vancouver Police say they’re investigating a “mass casualty incident” and that a 30-year-old man from Vancouver was arrested at the scene.
Police said the incident took place at East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street shortly after 20:00 local time (04:00 BST), as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day, an annual festival put on by British Columbia’s Filipino community that commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century.
Officials have not said what the motive behind the incident was and are continuing their investigation.
We are expecting to hear more from police in a media briefing later this morning. Stay with us for all the latest developments.
Police officers work at the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu day block party in Vancouver. Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters
Key events
What is Lapu-Lapu day?
The festival, celebrated especially in the central Philippines, honours Datu Lapu-Lapu, an indigenous Filipino leader who famously defeated Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan in 1521 and became a national hero.
The centrepiece of the festivities in Vancouver is a multi-block street party in the Sunset neighbourhood featuring Filipino food and traditions, live performances and cultural displays.
The party on Saturday was just starting to break up but many people were still in the streets when the dark SUV rammed into the crowd.
The government of British Columbia officially recognised 27 April as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, acknowledging the cultural contributions of the Filipino-Canadian community, one of the largest immigrant groups in the province.
Lapu-Lapu’s victory is celebrated in the Philippines as a symbol of nation’s resistance to colonisation and the bravery of its early leaders. The city of Lapu-Lapu on Mactan Island in the central Philippines is named in honour of Datu Lapu-Lapu and serves as living tribute to his legacy.
Vancouver police examine a black car after a vehicle drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu festival. Photograph: Rich Lam/AP
The Philippine consulate in Vancouver said in a Facebook statement that it “expresses its deep concern and sympathies to the victims of the horrific incident”.
“As we await more information about the incident, we pray that our community remains strong and resilient imbued with the spirit of bayanihan during this difficult time,” the consulate added in the statement.
James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the Filipino community’s annual Lapu Lapu Day festival and heard a car rev its engine and then “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought might be a gunshot.
“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help. So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured,” Cruzat said.
Cruzat added:
It was terrible to see that kind of incident, that situation. It was heartbreaking.
I couldn’t even imagine that it’s actually happening in real life, because normally we see that on TVs or movies. But when you are in that kind situation, it was really shocking.
Like, you couldn’t think really, really well. You couldn’t do anything but to pray for them.
Vancouver Police secure the scene where a car drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver. Photograph: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock
Vancouver Police 'confident incident was not act of terrorism'
In an update on X, Vancouver Police said: “At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism.” There is currently no information about any possible motives behind the incident.
Suspect was 'known to police in certain circumstances' - acting police chief says
Here is some of what acting police chief Steve Rai said in a Vancouver Police news conference earlier. These quotes have been carried by BBC News. Rai said:
There are “multiple injured” and “multiple fatalities” following the incident.
“There are still family members who need to be contacted.”
He did not want to be “unfair to families by putting out numbers that we aren’t even sure on yet”.
The 30-year-old suspect from Vancouver was “known to police in certain circumstances”.
The suspect was “taken into custody by people in the crowd” before police arrived at the scene.
The Lapu Lapu Day celebration underwent a “robust security assessment”before it was allowed to be put on.
Group that hosted Lapu Lapu festival says it is 'heartbroken by senseless tragedy'
In a statement posted on Instagram, Filipino BC, the group that hosts the local Lapu Lapu Day festival in Vancouver, said it is heartbroken at the “senseless tragedy” and is urging people affected to access mental health and victim support services.
It wrote in the social media post:
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.
We encourage everyone to check in, support and hold each other. Do not hesitate to access resources available. You are not alone.
Attendees of the Lapu Lapu celebrations have been giving accounts of what they saw to the media. Saturday’s event featured a parade, a film screening, dancing and a concert, with two members of the Black Eyed Peas featured on the lineup published by the organisers.
One witness told CTV News he saw a black vehicle driving erratically in the area of the festival just before the crowd was struck.
Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, was among the attendees at the event, but left minutes before the vehicle arrived, CTV news said.
“This is so horrific, I don’t even know what to say,” CTV quoted Singh as saying. “I was just there, and I just imagine the faces of the kids that I saw smiling and dancing.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh waves to the crowd during a campaign stop at a Lapu Lapu Day block party on 26 April 2025. Photograph: Darryl Dyck/AP
“As we wait to learn more, our thoughts are with the victims and their families – and Vancouver’s Filipino community, who were coming together today to celebrate resilience,” BBC News quoted Singh, who is running in Canada’s federal election – which takes place on Monday, as saying.
Festival security guard Jen Idaba-Castaneto told local news site Vancouver Is Awesome that she saw “bodies everywhere”.
“You don’t know who to help, here or there,” she said.
Vancouver police say the incident took place at 20:00 local time (04:00 BST) in Vancouver. Photograph: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has called the incident a “senseless attack”, while the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, David Eby, said he was “shocked and heartbroken”, adding that his thoughts were with the victims and their loved ones.
Canadian PM Mark Carney says he is 'devastated' about deadly incident
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has said he is “devastated” by the deadly incident that occurred in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighbourhood on Saturday.
In a post on X, Carney, who as the Liberal leader is in the midst of fighting a general election, wrote:
I am 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.
We are all mourning with you. We are monitoring the situation closely, and thankful to our first responders for their swift action.
Police investigating a 'mass casualty incident' after several people killed by car driven into crowd in Canada
Several people were killed when a driver ploughed a car into a crowd at a street festival on Saturday in the Canadian city of Vancouver, local police said.
Vancouver Police say they’re investigating a “mass casualty incident” and that a 30-year-old man from Vancouver was arrested at the scene.
Police said the incident took place at East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street shortly after 20:00 local time (04:00 BST), as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day, an annual festival put on by British Columbia’s Filipino community that commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century.
Officials have not said what the motive behind the incident was and are continuing their investigation.
We are expecting to hear more from police in a media briefing later this morning. Stay with us for all the latest developments.
Police officers work at the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu day block party in Vancouver. Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters
