Nine killed as driver plows into Vancouver festival crowd

A driver killed at least nine people when he plowed a vehicle through a crowd at a Filipino cultural celebration in Vancouver, police in the Canadian city said Sunday.

The Filipino community had gathered in Vancouver's Sunset on Fraser neighborhood on Saturday evening when festivalgoers were hit.

"We can confirm nine people have died after a man drove through a crowd at last night's Lapu Lapu Festival," Vancouver police said on X.

The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada's election.

Police said they have arrested a "lone suspect" – a 30-year-old man from Vancouver who was known to them – and were not treating the incident as an "act of terrorism."

An AFP reporter saw police officers at the scene, with parts of the festival venue cordoned off.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was "devastated" by the "horrific events."

"I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver," he wrote on X.

Footage posted online and verified by AFP shows a black SUV with a damaged hood parked on a street littered with debris, meters from first aiders tending to people lying on the ground.

Eyewitness Dale Selipe told the Vancouver Sun that she saw injured children on the street after the vehicle rammed into the crowd.

"There was a lady with her eyes staring up, one of her legs was already broken. One person was holding her hand trying to comfort her," Selipe told the newspaper.

"We are still finding the words to express the deep heartbreak brought on by this senseless tragedy," community group Filipino BC, the organizer of the Saturday event, said in an Instagram statement.

"We are focused on supporting our community right now, in addition to experiencing this trauma."

'Bodies everywhere'

Festival security guard Jen Idaba-Castaneto told local news site Vancouver Is Awesome that she saw "bodies everywhere."

"You don't know who to help, here or there," she said.

The Philippine consulate in Vancouver said in a Facebook statement it "expresses its deep concern and sympathies to the victims of the horrific incident."

British Columbia premier David Eby said he was "shocked & heartbroken" by the news, while city mayor Ken Sim said "our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver's Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time."

Saturday's event featured a parade, a film screening, dancing and a concert, with two members of the Black Eyed Peas featured on the lineup published by the organizers.

Lapu Lapu Day is celebrated in the Philippines in remembrance of Indigenous chief Lapulapu, who led his men to defeat Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in battle in 1521.