At least 11 people are dead and dozens more are injured after a man drove an SUV into a crowd of people at a Filipino festival on Saturday night in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, according to police.
Authorities have not yet released a list of the victims. In a Sunday afternoon news conference, a Vancouver police official said the ages of the dead ranged from 5 years old to 65.
"This is the darkest day in our city's history," said Steve Rai, the department's acting chief, speaking earlier Sunday. And he warned that the death toll could continue to rise.
The incident, which took place at an event called the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party, is not suspected of being a terrorist attack. It took place around 8:15 p.m. Saturday, just before sunset, as the event was winding down after thousands of people had been in attendance throughout the day.
The driver, a 30-year-old male Vancouver resident, was known to police, according to Rai, who described "a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health." Authorities declined to publicly name him until criminal charges had been filed.
"There are many unanswered questions about why this horrific crime happened, the motive of the person who did it and whether anything could have been done to prevent it," Rai said.
Most of the block party took place on the grounds of a high school away from publicly accessible streets, police said. But the neighborhood street behind the school — East 43rd Avenue — was lined on both sides with food trucks, with festival-goers walking down the middle.
That set the stage for a devastating toll as the driver drove a black Audi SUV into the crowd of hundreds. A video on social media appeared to show the immediate aftermath of the incident, with multiple bodies laying on the asphalt as bystanders tended to the injured. (Scenery and food trucks seen in the video matched those seen in photographs taken at the scene by news photographers.)
"He slammed the pedal down on the gas and just rammed into hundreds of people. It was like seeing a bowling ball hit all the bowling pins, and all the pins go flying up in the air," Kris Pangilinan, who came to the festival to work a booth for his clothing and lifestyle brand, said in an interview with CBC News. "It looked like we were in a war zone."
The driver was the only occupant of the car, according to authorities. He was arrested at the scene by Vancouver police after "bystanders and witnesses intervened to detain him," Rai said.
Lapu-Lapu Day is a Filipino holiday named for an indigenous chief who won a 1521 battle with Spanish forces led by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the present-day Philippines.
Vancouver is home to more than 100,000 Filipino Canadians. In 2023, the government of British Columbia recognized the holiday. This year was the second annual edition of the festival, Rai said.
The incident took place less than 48 hours before federal elections in Canada begin, a closely watched vote expected to reflect Canadians' feelings about nearly a decade of Liberal Party rule and how U.S. President Trump has approached relations with their country.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, campaigning for his Liberal Party, canceled a planned rally in Calgary Sunday.
"Families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughter. Those families are living every family's nightmare," he said. "I know that I join all Canadians in mourning with you."
Conservative candidate Pierre Poilievre also responded to the incident. "Our hearts are with you today. All Canadians are united in solidarity with the Filipino community. All Canadians are united with you in mourning the loss of these treasured lives," he said.
The incident raised questions about whether local police had implemented an adequate security plan for the event. Last year's edition of the festival "had absolutely zero issues," and no changes were made to the security plans, Rai said.
Still, the incident would be a "watershed moment" for the department, Rai said. "It goes without saying this will change the landscape for deployment for police going forward," he said.
In 2018, a man drove a van through a crowded Toronto sidewalk, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than a dozen.
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