A driver rammed into a crowd during a street festival in Vancouver on Saturday night, killing several people and injuring others, local police said.
The incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. in the Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. Vancouver Police said on X that “a number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured.” The driver is in custody.
Festivalgoers had gathered for a parade, concert, and cultural celebration honoring Filipino hero Lapulapu, known for resisting Spanish colonization in the 1500s.
“It’s so shocking,” said Jen Idaba-Castaneto, a security guard at the festival, who described seeing “bodies everywhere.”
Photos from Canadian broadcaster CBC showed large crowds and emergency crews responding at the scene.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and British Columbia Premier David Eby both expressed condolences, with Eby saying he was “shocked and heartbroken.”
The tragedy comes two days before Canadians head to the polls in a hotly contested national election. Lapu Lapu Day, typically marked in the Philippines, was celebrated this weekend by Vancouver’s large Filipino community.
The incident draws parallels to a 2021 attack in London, Ontario, where a white supremacist ran over a Muslim family. That driver was sentenced last year in Canada's first terrorism ruling tied to white supremacy.