Vancouver, British Columbia (AP) – Vancouver police have ruled out terrorism in a car charge attack that killed 11 people at the Canadian Filipino Heritage Festival, saying the suspect has a history of mental health issues.
Dozens of others were injured as the charges shook the country before the federal elections.
On Saturday, just after 8pm, a man driving a black Audi SUV entered the street and attacked people who attended the Lapu Lapu Day Festival. A Vancouver man has been arrested.
“It’s the darkest day in Vancouver’s history,” Vancouver Police Interim Prime Minister Steve Lye told a news conference.
“The people we are detained have a significant history of interactions with police and medical professionals related to mental health,” he said.
Videos from the aftermath show deaths and injuries along narrow streets in South Vancouver, lined with food trucks. The front of the driver’s SUV has been destroyed.
Chris Pangilinan, who brought pop-up clothes and lifestyle booths to the festival, watched the vehicle slowly pass the barricade before the driver hit the gas in an area packed with people after the concert. He said the sound of his body hitting the vehicle never leaves his mind.
“He wiped someone down on the right and I was like, ‘Oh, yo-yo.’ And he slammed the gas,” he said. “And the sound of acceleration sounds like an F1 car about to start a race.
“He hit the gas and barreled through the crowd, and all I remember is to fly into the air than the food truck itself and land on the ground, landing on the ground, and see people screaming.
Pangirinan said it’s difficult to believe that “someone has some kind of malicious intention towards the Filipino.”
The suspect was taken into custody on the sidelines before police arrived.
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene. Rye said the man was arrested after being first arrested by a bystander.
A video circulating on social media shows a young man wearing a black hoodie, with his back against a chain link fence, carrying his back alongside a guard, surrounded by bystanders and vowing to him.
“Sorry,” the man said, clutching his hand to his head.
Rai declined to comment on the video.
Prime Minister Mark Kearney cancelled his first campaign event and two major rallies on the final day of the campaign prior to vote on Monday.
“Last night, the family lost a sister, sibling, mother, father, son or daughter. Those families live the nightmare of every family,” Carney said. “And I would like to provide my deepest motivation to them and many other people injured, to the Canadian community in the Philippines and to everyone in Vancouver.”
Kearney was planning to join British Columbia Premier David Ebby and the Sunday evening community leader in Vancouver.
In 2018, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto. Eight women and two men have died. Convicted Alek Minasian told police he belongs to an online community of sexually frustrated men.
Witnesses explain how they popped out of the way
Carayn Nulada said he pulled his granddaughter and grandson off the street and used his body to protect him from the SUV. She said her daughter suffered from a narrow escape.
“The car hit her arm and she collapsed, but she woke up looking for us.
“I saw people running and my daughter was shaking.”
Nurada was in the emergency room at Vancouver General Hospital early Sunday morning.
The doctors identified him by placing his wedding ring on a pill bottle and telling the family he is stable but facing surgery.
James Cruzat, a business owner in Vancouver, was celebrated, hearing the leather pastor of the engine, and then hearing the “very loud noise” he thought was the first gunshot.
“We saw people on the road crying. We saw others running, screaming, screaming, asking for help. So we tried to get there to see what was actually going on until we found some bodies on the ground.
When Adonis Quita saw the SUV plunging through the crowd, he said his first response was to drag his 9-year-old son out of the area. The boy kept saying, “I’m scared, I’m scared.” Later they prayed together. His son had just moved from the Philippines to Vancouver with his mother to reunite with Kita, who had lived here since 2024.
Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said in a social media post the city will provide as much information as possible.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrifying incident at today’s Lapu-Lapu Day event,” Sim said. “Our idea lies in all the people affected and the Filipino community in Vancouver during this incredibly difficult time.”
Vancouver’s large Filipino population was celebrating the heroes of its people
Vancouver has more than 38,600 residents of the Filipino heritage in 2021, accounting for 5.9% of the city’s total population, according to Statistics Canada, which runs the census.
Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an indigenous chief who stood up against Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century. The Vancouver event organizers, in their second year, said they “represent the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helps shape Filipino identity in the face of colonization.”
Ebby said the state would not let the tragedy define celebrations. He urged people to lead their anger to help those affected.
“I don’t think there are any British Colombians who have not been in any way moved by the Filipino community,” he said. “You can’t go to a place where you don’t meet members of that community in long-term care facilities, childcare, or schools. This is a community that gives yesterday, and yesterday was a celebration of their culture.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a statement expressing sympathy for the victims and their families.
“The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident is thoroughly investigated and ensure that the victims and their families are supported and comforted,” he said.
The country’s Foreign Ministry said, “We remember Canada’s strong Filipino community of one million people and pray for their continued strength and resilience.”
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Gillies was reported from Toronto. Associated Press Writer Hannah Schoenbaum was a contributor from Salt Lake City, Utah.
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