Nine Dead After Vehicle Rams Crowd at Filipino Festival in Vancouver

Chaos at Filipino Festival in Vancouver…. At least nine people were killed on Saturday evening when a man drove into a crowd at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver, Canada, police said in a post on X.

Authorities said they arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver man at the scene, describing him as “known” to police. Witnesses reportedly chased down and detained the suspect before officers arrived. Several others were also injured in the incident.

A witness told CTV News he saw a black vehicle driving erratically near the festival site just before it struck the crowd. In a statement posted on X, Vancouver police said they are confident the incident was not an act of terrorism.

The tragedy occurred shortly after 8 p.m. (0300 GMT) near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street, where the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party — celebrating a Philippine national hero — was underway. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his grief on X, writing, “I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu-Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening.”

Following the tragedy, officials from Carney’s Liberal Party announced that the prime minister’s campaign events would be paused on Sunday morning. Canada’s federal election is scheduled for Monday.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also responded, saying he was “shattered to hear about the terrible incident” and offered his “deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and to the strong and thriving Filipino community in Canada.”

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The government of British Columbia officially designated April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, recognizing the cultural contributions of the Filipino-Canadian community, one of the largest immigrant groups in the province. Describing the incident as “horrific,” CTV News reported that Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, had attended the event but left minutes before the vehicle struck.

Horror at Filipino Festival in Vancouver

“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.”

Another witness, who did not wish to be identified, said he had seen about 15 people lying on the ground after the dark SUV plunged into the crowd. The witness said the driver had tried to run but was chased down by festivalgoers and held against a fence for about 10 minutes until police arrived.

The festival, celebrated especially in the central Philippines, honours Datu Lapu-Lapu, a Filipino chieftain who defeated Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan in 1521. 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.

“I didn’t get to see the driver, all I heard was an engine rev,” Yoseb Vardeh, co-owner of food truck Bao Buns, said in an interview with Postmedia.

“I got outside my food truck, I looked down the road and there’s just bodies everywhere,” said Vardeh, his voice breaking with emotion. “He went through the whole block, he went straight down the middle.”

The Vancouver Sun said thousands of people had been in the area. Vancouver city councillor Peter Fry told CTV News he had also been at the event earlier in the day.

“This was a great day. A wonderful event. Huge community event. And to have it end in tragedy like this, it won’t break us or the community but it’s horrible,” he said.

Source: SowetanLive