- Mourners hold candles during a memorial service for the victims of a vehicle attack at the Filipino Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver that killed 11 people.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
- Local residents place flowers at a memorial, a day after a vehicle attack that killed 11 people at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver.Nav Rahi/The Globe and Mail
- A police officer patrols the cordoned off scene of the vehicle attack that killed 11 people at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver on Saturday.Nav Rahi
- From left, B.C. Premier David Eby, local MP Don Davies and former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson attend a memorial service for victims of the Vancouver vehicle attack on Sunday.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
- A woman sits and prays near the site where a vehicle drove into crowd at a Filipino street festival last night in Vancouver, killing 11.Rich Lam/The Canadian Press
- MLA Mable Elmore and organizers of the Lapu Lapu festival hold a news conference the day after a man drove a vehicle into pedestrians at the event in Vancouver.NAV RAHI/AFP/Getty Images
- Police officers work at the scene of the fatal vehicle attack during the Lapu Lapu Filipino festival on Saturday.Chris Helgren/Reuters
- BC Premier David Ebby and MLA Mable Elmore deliver remarks regarding the vehicle attack at a street festival in Vancouver last night.Rich Lam/The Canadian Press
- A memorial is created near the scene of the deadly vehicle attack at Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver, on Sunday.Nav Rahi
- Mourners sing during a memorial service at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin for the victims of the vehicle attack in Vancouver.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
- Vancouver police officers search for possible witnesses near the scene of the attack at the Lapu Lapu festival on Saturday.Chris Helgren/Reuters
- Congregants embrace after a worship service at the Filipino Fellowship Baptist Church in Vancouver, the day after a driver killed multiple people at a Filipino community festival.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
- Sarah Edmilao, a member of the Filipino community, places flowers at a growing memorial near the site the vehicle attack at a Filipino festival in Vancouver the night before.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
- Vancouver Police survey the scene the morning after a driver killed multiple people Saturday during a Filipino community festival.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
- NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, centre, observes a moment of silence for the victims of an attack that killed 11 people at a Filipino festival Saturday evening in Vancouver. Mr. Singh was present at the festival shortly before the attack occurred.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
- A woman and a child leave flowers near the scene where a vehicle drove into the crowd at a Filipino festival in Vancouver the night before, killing 11 people.Rich Lam/The Canadian Press
- Esperanza Bermudez is comforted by friends the morning after a driver killed multiple people during a Filipino community festival near her home in Vancouver.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
- A bouquet of flowers is left near the scene of a fatal vehicle attack at a Filipino festival in Vancouver the night before.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
- A Vancouver police officer armed with a rifle stands guard at the Vancouver Sun Run a day after a man drove through a crowd at a Filipino festival, killing 11 and injuring many more.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
- The suspect vehicle is seen with the driver’s door ajar after it was driven into a crowd at a Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver on Saturday.Chris Helgren/Reuters
- Police inspect the scene where a man drove a vehicle into a crowd of people attending the Lapu Lapu Filipino festival in Vancouver on Saturday.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
- Vancouver Police Department Interim Chief Steve Rai speaks to the media near the scene of the mass-casualty attack at the Lapu Lapu festival.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
Eleven people are dead and numerous others hurt after a man drove an SUV through a large Filipino street festival in Vancouver Saturday evening, in what Vancouver Police Department Interim Chief Steve Rai has called “the darkest day in our city’s history.”
Mr. Rai told an afternoon news conference the 11 victims killed ranged in age from 5 to 65. He said “dozens more” are injured, some of them critically and some have not yet been identified.
“We believe dozens more are injured, some seriously, and the number of dead could rise in the coming days or weeks,” Mr. Rai said at a press conference at police headquarters on Sunday morning.
It is now one of the largest mass-fatality vehicle attacks in Canadian history. Chief Rai said he couldn’t yet speak about a motive, but that police don’t believe it was an act of terrorism.
What we know so far about the deadly vehicle incident at Vancouver Lapu Lapu festival
Mr. Rai said the 30-year-old suspect is not currently being identified, as charges have yet to laid against him.
He described the man as having “a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health.” The driver, who he said is from Vancouver, is currently in a secure cell in police custody.
The names or genders of the victims are also not yet being released.
Vancouver’s interim police chief says this is the darkest day in the city’s history after Saturday night’s deadly incident when a vehicle was driven into a crowded festival, killing 11 and injuring dozens more. Steve Rai told reporters that consultations had determined that dedicated officers and heavy vehicle barricades would not be used at the festival site.
The Globe and Mail
“It is impossible to overstate how many lives have been impacted forever by this lone individual,” Mr. Rai said. “There are many unanswered questions about this horrific crime, the motive of the person who did it, and whether anything could have been done to prevent it. There are many things we still don’t know. We are working hard to get all of the answers.”
The attack happened shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday night, when a black Audi SUV hurtled into a crowd of people at the Lapu Lapu street festival, which was happening near John Oliver Secondary School at 41st Ave. and Fraser Street.
Mr. Rai said the event was wrapping up around that time, but that there were still numerous people in the area when the SUV approached from the west and entered a small, enclosed area where food trucks were parked.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim echoed Mr. Rai’s assessment that the city and the Filipino community had “suffered its darkest day in Vancouver,” at a Sunday afternoon news conference at City Hall.
“Families gathered to celebrate, to dance to share their culture and their pride, and in an instant their world was shattered,” said Mr. Sim.
Mr. Sim said the incident is not about politics, but it should be a wake-up call for all levels of government to act quickly to increase mental-health services and, in some instances, involuntary care for individuals who pose a risk to public safety. He said he has also ordered a full review of the city’s event safety protocols and risk assessments after being briefed by police last night.
“We need that mandatory care faster, we need more of it and faster,” he said. “We can’t take a government approach to this, lives are on the line. Communities are at stake.”
Mr. Sim said Liberal Leader Mark Carney, campaigning to remain Prime Minister after Monday’s election, called him to offer the federal government’s support to Vancouver and the victims.
Secondary
School
Approximate location of incident
Lapu Lapu Day
Festival area
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source:vancouver police;
lapulapuday.com; openstreetmap
John Oliver
Secondary
School
Approximate location of incident
Lapu Lapu Day
Festival area
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source:vancouver police;
lapulapuday.com; openstreetmap
John Oliver
Secondary
School
Lapu Lapu Day
Festival area
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source:vancouver police;
lapulapuday.com; openstreetmap
Witnesses described hearing the vehicle’s engine revving and seeing it plow into the crowd, throwing victims high into the air.
Videos from the scene showed bodies strewn on the ground, as people tried to resuscitate and aid the injured. A black SUV could be seen on the road, with its hood and bumper crushed.
The driver of the vehicle was apprehended by people at the scene and taken into police custody. Police said the vehicle is owned by someone associated with the family of the suspect.
Filipino BC community organizer RJ Aquino told reporters Sunday that he’s feeling a mix of sadness and anger, saying the community is in mourning.
“Last night was extremely difficult, and the community, we’ll feel this for a long time,” Mr. Aquino said Sunday. “There are a lot of questions floating about and we don’t have all the answers, but we want to tell everybody that we’re grieving,” Mr. Aquino said, adding the focus needs to be on providing support to victims.
Mr. Rai said police worked with the City of Vancouver to conduct a risk assessment before the festival, as they do with more than 3,200 events every year. He said that, in consultation with the City of Vancouver and festival organizers, it was decided that dedicated police officers and heavy-vehicle barricades wouldn’t be used at the festival site.
Mr. Rai said he’s confident that the joint risk-assessment and public-safety plans for the event were sound, but that police will be reviewing the circumstances around the attack.
“It goes without saying this will change the landscape for deployment for police going forward,” he said.
He said more than 100 police officers are currently working on the investigation, including supporting the injured, interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence from the scene.
In a statement from Filipino BC, members of the community were encouraged to check in one another and to “hold each other” through this tragedy.
On Sunday morning, friends and family of loved ones gathered at a support centre that had been set up for victims inside the Douglas Community Centre on West 22nd Ave.
Kelly Yen said her friend attended the event on Saturday night, and that she has not been able to reach her since. Ms. Yen and two other friends, all in their early 20s, went to the support centre to ask police if their friend was among the injured or the dead.
“We’re very worried,” said Ms. Yen, before heading inside.
With reports from Moira Wyton and The Canadian Press
Three eyewitnesses describe what they saw when a car struck revellers at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver on Saturday night.
The Associated Press
