The deadly incident happened during a festival celebrating Filipino culture in Vancouver
At least nine people were killed when a car plowed through the Lapu Lapu street festival in the Canadian city of Vancouver late Saturday evening, according to local police.
A number of other pedestrians were wounded in the incident, which occurred at East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street, the police said in a statement on X.
The driver of the vehicle has been taken into custody, the statement read. The police later stated that the suspect was a 30-year-old male from Vancouver.
“At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism,” it stressed. In a separate press conference, the police said that the driver had been known to law enforcement agencies “in certain circumstances.” The suspect was apprehended by guests of the festival, who held him until the officers arrived, it added.
The Vancouver Sun reported that the driver was telling bystanders after the ramming that he was “sorry” for what had happened. According to the newspaper’s sources, the man had been suffering from mental health issues.
Those killed and wounded were participants of the annual Lapu Lapu festival, which celebrates Filipino culture, according to local media.
Initial reports of several killed and over a dozen injured, after an SUV plowed into a closed-off street filled with people celebrating the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver, Canada. pic.twitter.com/cLQQPfOMCq
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 27, 2025
Videos uploaded on social media have captured ambulances and police cars at the scene and a number of injured people lying on the ground. They also showed a crashed black SUV, which had been apparently involved in the ramming.
🚨 #BREAKING: A tragic incident occurred at the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party in Vancouver, Canada, when an SUV drove into a crowd of festivalgoers on a closed-off street near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street. Reports indicate multiple fatalities and injuries, with estimates from… pic.twitter.com/oCzWXRgc9c
— SyeClops (@SyeClops) April 27, 2025
Video of the SUV that drove into the crowd of people in #Vancouver tonight at the Lapu Lapu Festival. Tragic news. There’s videos of the alleged suspect, I won’t be sharing those. pic.twitter.com/9o4HSR7zW1
— Karm Sumal (@KarmSumal) April 27, 2025
The city’s mayor, Ken Sim, said on X that he was “shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident” at the street festival. “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” he wrote.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also said that he was “devastated” by what had happened. In a post on X, he expressed his deepest condolences to the loved ones of those affected and thanked the first responders for their “swift action.”
One of the witnesses told the Vancouver Sun newspaper that “there were bodies on the street. They were run over. Some were already dead on the spot.” According to another bystander, there were at least two children among the wounded.
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