11 killed in Vancouver as car ploughs into Filipino festival

At least eleven people were killed when a man drove through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in the western Canadian city of Vancouver on Saturday evening, police said in an X post.

Police said they had arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver man, who was “known” to them, at the scene. The suspect was initially chased down and held by festival-goers until police arrived, witnesses said. A number of people were also injured.

One witness told CTV News he saw a black vehicle driving erratically in the area of the festival just before the crowd was struck.

“At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism,” Vancouver police said in an X post.

The incident happened shortly after 8 pm (0300 GMT) near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street, where the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party, celebrating a Philippine national hero, was taking place.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X, “I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu-Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening.” Canada’s federal election takes place on Monday. Officials from Carney’s Liberal Party said the prime minister’s campaign movements would be delayed on Sunday morning and that Carney would make a statement.

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

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, was among the attendees at the event, but left minutes before the vehicle arrived, he told reporters.

“We don’t know the motives, we don’t know any of the details, but ultimately this is something that targeted the Filipino community,” he said.

“I was there, and I just imagined the faces of the kids I saw smiling and dancing. It’s horrific,” he said.

World