Several people lost their lives and numerous others were injured in Vancouver when a driver plowed into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the western Canadian city on Saturday, as reported by police on Saturday.
Authorities have apprehended the driver, as announced via a social media update on platform X, though additional details were not disclosed. A police briefing is scheduled for midnight.
The tragedy occurred just after 8:14pm local time at the intersection of East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street during the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party.
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada expressed his devastation on X, stating, “I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening.”
Echoing the sentiment, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and British Columbia Premier David Eby shared similar messages on X.
A witness described to CTV News seeing a black vehicle driving erratically near the festival site moments before the incident.
Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party and a festival attendee, had departed just before the chaos ensued, according to CTV News.
Singh remarked to CTV, “This is so horrific, I don’t even know what to say. I was just there, and I just imagine the faces of the kids that I saw smiling and dancing.”
The federal election in Canada is scheduled for the upcoming Monday.
The Vancouver Sun reported that thousands were present at the location.
Yoseb Vardeh, co-owner of the Bao Buns food truck, told Postmedia, “I didn’t get to see the driver; all I heard was an engine rev.”
He continued, “I stepped outside my food truck, looked down the road, and there were just bodies everywhere. He went through the whole block, going straight down the middle.”
