A number of people have been killed and multiple others injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in Canada.
Police said they were investigating a mass casualty incident and had arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver man at the scene, but did not immediately give the number of fatalities or injured.
At a midnight press conference, police said the suspect was “known” to them but did not elaborate.
The incident happened on Saturday night local time in South Vancouver where the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, celebrating a Philippine national hero, was taking place.
“A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured after a driver drove into a crowd,” police said.
One witness told CTV News he saw a black vehicle driving erratically in the area of the festival just before the crowd was struck.
The Vancouver Sun said thousands of people had been in the area.
“I didn’t get to see the driver. All I heard was an engine rev,” Yoseb Vardeh, co-owner of food truck Bao Buns, told Postmedia.
“I got outside my food truck, I looked down the road and there’s just bodies everywhere.
“He went through the whole block. He went straight down the middle.”
‘I don’t even know what to say’
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,” Singh told CTV.
Jagmeet Singh arrives for what he thought would be a normal campaign stop at the Lapu Lapu Day block partyon Saturday. Source: AAP / Darryl Dyck / AP
“I was just there, and I just imagine the faces of the kids that I saw smiling and dancing.”
Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying on the ground.
A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in still photos from the scene.
Vancouver police examine the black SUV believed to have been responsible for multiple fatalities after its driver steered into the festival crowd. Source: AAP / Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event,” Vancouver’s Mayor Ken Sim said.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he was “shocked and heartbroken” to hear of the lives lost and those injured.
“Police are investigating and a suspect is in custody,” he said in a post on social media.
“We are in contact with the City of Vancouver and will provide any support needed. My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones.”
Canadian PM ‘devastated’ by ‘horrific events’
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the incident “horrific”.
“Devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver earlier this evening,” he said in a post on X.
“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.”
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