Many people were killed, others were injured when the driver fell into a crowd at the famous Philippine Festival.
Police say multiple people were killed and several others were injured in Vancouver after the vehicle drove into a crowd at a festival on Philippine Street in Western Canada.
Police said the incident occurred in the city’s sunset at 8pm on Saturday (Sunday 3:00 GMT Sunday) in the Fraser area, a 30-year-old man, who was taken into custody.
One witness told CTV News that he saw a black vehicle driving irregularly in the festival area just before the crowd was hit, Reuters reported.
Video shared on social media captures the chaotic aftermath, showing the body lying on the road as first responders and bystanders tried to help the injured.
The victims were rushed to several local hospitals, and staff were warned to expect a massive arrival of the victim. Thousands of people were in the area at the time of the attack, the Vancouver Sun said.
The food truck owner described the scene of devastation after the car torested through the crowd.
“We couldn’t see the driver. What we heard was the engine revving,” Joseb Valde, co-owner of the food truck Baopan, said in an interview with Postmedia.
“I’m just going outside the food truck, looking down the road, and there are bodies everywhere,” Vardeh said as his voice broke. “He went through the entire block. He went straight down the middle.”
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said, “I am deeply saddened by the horrifying incident at today’s Lapu-Lapu Day event.”
The festival commemorates the anti-colonial leaders of the Philippines in the 16th century.
“Our idea lies in all the people affected during this incredibly difficult time and in the Filipino community in Vancouver,” writes Sim.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Kearney said he was “devastated to hear about the horrifying events” at the Lapu Lapu Festival.
“I am all mourning with you to those who were killed and injured, to the Canadian community in the Philippines and to everyone in Vancouver,” he said.
Canada is scheduled to hold a federal election on Monday.
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