Vancouver police said on Sunday that 11 people had been killed and more than 20 people were wounded after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival in the western Canadian city.
The 30-year-old suspect has been taken into custody, police said in a post on X/Twitter.
The police noted that they were confident that the incident was not an act of terrorism.
"At approximately 8:14 p.m. on April 26, a man drove into a large crowd of people attending the Lapu Lapu Day Festival near East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street," the police statement said.
Vancouver police chief Steve Rai said in a midnight press briefing that the perpetrator had been known to the police in different capacities.
#BREAKING: Mass-casualty event after an SUV plowed into a street festival in Vancouver. pic.twitter.com/hW2fDtzRYL
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) April 27, 2025
Videos posted on social media show emergency services rushing to the scene, where some people were lying on the ground with serious injuries.
Canadian media reported that some 100,000 people had attended the event.
Journalist Kris Pangilinan told the Canadian Broadcasting Company that the attack was "something you don't expect to see in your lifetime."
He told the CBC that after Filipino-American rapper Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas finished his set, the stage crew was removing road barricades to allow traffic to flow through. Then, one of the cars that the crew allowed through suddenly sped up and hit a person.
"Then we realized what was happening and everybody started yelling," Pangilinan said. "[The driver] just slammed the pedal down and rammed into hundreds of people. It was like seeing a bowling ball hit — all the bowling pins and all the pins flying up in the air."
"As someone who worked in news, you get numb to seeing these things — but seeing it in real life is just shocking," he told the CBC, likening the scene to a "war zone" and adding that he saw "countless" people injured.
Other eyewitnesses said that the attacker went straight through the block party.
“I didn’t get to see the driver, all I heard was an engine rev," Yoseb Vardeh, co-owner of food truck Bao Buns, said in an interview with Postmedia.
“I got outside my food truck, I looked down the road and there’s just bodies everywhere,” said Vardeh, as his voice broke. “He went through the whole block, he went straight down the middle.”
In a separate video, dozens of police cars can be seen outside the limits of the festival. Civilians on X/Twitter reported a heavy police presence in the surrounding area.
Heavy police presence right now on Fraser Street after a report of a vehicle that drove into a crowd of people at Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver. Praying no one was hurt https://t.co/eXGOHI4TcA
— Karm Sumal (@KarmSumal) April 27, 2025
A picture of the vehicle that is being circulated on social media shows that the unnamed perpetrator heavily damaged the front of the SUV.
Canadian police stressed that the investigation into the incident was ongoing and that they would release more information as it unfolded.
Canadian politicians, President Marcos react to deadly car ramming
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote that he was "devastated to hear about the horrific events" at the block party in a post on X/Twitter.
"I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you."
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he was "shattered to hear about the terrible incident" in Vancouver.
Marcos said the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver was working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said that he was "shocked" at the events in Vancouver in a statement on X/Twitter.
"My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack. Thank you to the first responders who are at the scene as we wait to hear more."
The party's organizers, a group called Filipino BC, wrote that it was struggling with the weight of the loss.
“We are still finding the words to express the deep heartbreak brought on by this senseless tragedy. We are devastated for the families and victims.”
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said that he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the ramming, and added that his thoughts were with the Filipino community and those affected by the attack.
British Columbia Premier David Eby wrote that his government was working closely with authorities to finish the investigation quickly.