11 killed as vehicle rams through Vancouver festival crowd Vancouver’s Filipino community was celebrating Lapu Lapu Day. Police said they were not treating the incident as an act of terrorismUpdated April 27, 2025 at 1:13 p.m. EDT Updated 28 minutes ago 3 min.
At least 11 people were killed when a vehicle rammed through a crowd during a street festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Saturday night, police said.
A 30-year-old man was arrested at the scene. Police said he was the only suspect. The crowd had been attending a large festival for the Canadian city’s Filipino community.
Police did not provide information on a possible motive but said they were not treating the incident as an act of terrorism.
“This is the darkest day in our city’s history,” Vancouver police said on X, announcing that the initial death toll of nine had increased to 11 by Sunday morning.
Steve Rai, the acting chief of the Vancouver Police Department, told reporters early Sunday that a man drove into a large crowd at a street party around 8:15 p.m.
The suspect was apprehended by bystanders, who called the police, Rai said. He told reporters that the suspect was “known to police in certain circumstances” but did not offer more details.
The Lapu Lapu Day block party in South Vancouver is an annual event hosted by the local Filipino community to celebrate the 1521 victory of an Indigenous leader over Spanish forces in the Philippines.
“We are still finding the words to express the deep heartbreak brought on by this senseless tragedy,” the event’s organizers said Sunday in a post on social media. “We are devastated for the families and victims.”
Photos from the scene showed a stationary black vehicle surrounded by bodies and a large number of emergency responders and police.
Bystander Kris Pangilinan told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that he saw “countless” bodies. “This car slowly started to pick up speed, and then hit someone,” he said.
He said the vehicle continued to hit people as it drove out of view. “It just kept going and going and going. People were just screaming and trying to run away,” he said. “It looked like we were in a war zone.”
A wooden barrier that had blocked access to the street was removed shortly before the incident, Pangilinan said. Crowds were pouring into the street after the performance by the festival’s headline act, Apl.de.ap, a founding member of the Black Eyed Peas.
The police said a 24-hour assistance center for victims and their families was established at the Douglas Park Community Center.
The metropolitan Vancouver area is home to a vibrant community of Filipino-Canadians. According to the 2021 census, over 174,000 residents of British Columbia are of Filipino descent.
Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences. “I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening,” he wrote on X. He said authorities were monitoring the situation closely.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wrote that he was “shocked and deeply saddened. … Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”
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