Saint Thomas, the Apostle of India
Categories:
Nine people were killed and several more injured after a car plowed into a crowd in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday night. The SUV hit a crowd of Filipinos who were celebrating the Lapu Lapu national holiday. The driver of the vehicle was arrested.
The 30-year-old driver, described as a “lone suspect” known to authorities, was arrested at the scene. Officials have not elaborated on a possible motive.
However, Vancouver police said in a post on X that “at this time, we are confident that this incident was not a terrorist act.”
“Many people were killed and many others were injured,” the police spokesman noted at a press conference held at midnight (local time), declining to give an exact number of dead or injured in the incident and saying that they would have more information later.
It is a “situation that is still ongoing,” he added, but clarified that at the point where the car crashed, “the crowd was dense.”
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event. Our thoughts are with all those affected and the Filipino community in Vancouver at this extremely difficult time,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wrote in a post on X.
The incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. local time on Saturday in the city’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day.
Abigail Andiso told local newspaper Vancouver Sun that she was with friends at the festival when she heard loud noises followed by screams.
“There were bodies. They were crushed. Some were already dead,” she said. Dale Selippe, who was with her, said he saw children who had been injured.
Images circulating on social media and verified by AFP showed a black SUV, the front of which was badly damaged, parked on a road filled with debris, with canteens strewn all over the place. A few meters away, rescue workers were tending to people lying on the ground.
“We don’t know who to help first (…) It’s shocking,” Jen Idaba-Castaneto, the festival’s head of security, told local news website Vancouver Is Awesome, saying she saw “bodies everywhere.” Photos released by the CBC showed first aid teams at the scene.
The incident heightens tensions ahead of Canada‘s national election on Monday.
“We all mourn with you,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was scheduled to travel to the province of British Columbia today for his final campaign rallies, wrote in a post on X.
“My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack,” Pierre Poillievre, the Conservative leader for the parliamentary elections and Mark Carney’s main opponent, told X, “awaiting more information” about the perpetrator’s motives.
“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, as well as the Filipino community in Vancouver,” Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the Left, responded to X.
The day’s festival program included a parade, a film screening, dancing and a concert, with two members of the Black Eyed Peas performing.
