A number of folks have been killed and plenty of others injured after a person drove a automobile right into a crowd on the Filipino Lapu Lapu Day road competition in Vancouver on Saturday.
The Vancouver Police Division says the incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. close to East forty third Avenue and Fraser Avenue.
“The driving force is in custody,” the VPD stated on X simply earlier than 9:30 p.m.
A number of police and different first responders stay on the scene at East forty first Avenue and Fraser Avenue.
Numerous folks have been killed and a number of others injured after a person drove right into a crowd at a Filipino competition in Vancouver on April 26, 2025. (CityNews Picture)
In an replace by VPD Interim Chief Steve Rai simply after 12 a.m., police affirm {that a} 30-year-old Vancouver man is in custody. Rai says the suspect is “recognized to police in sure circumstances.”
Numerous folks have been killed and a number of others are injured after a driver drove right into a crowd at a road competition at E. forty first Avenue and Fraser shortly after 8 p.m. tonight. The driving force is in custody. We are going to present extra info because the investigation unfolds. pic.twitter.com/Iqh5AK5Au3
– Vancouver Police (@vancouverpd) April 27, 2025
“We’ve some information of interactions. It could be unfair and inappropriate to the investigation and to a correct conclusion for the investigation if I taint it with any particulars proper now,” he stated.
Rai declined to share precisely how many individuals have been killed or injured throughout the incident as victims’ households proceed to be notified.
Vancouver Police Division Interim Chief Steve Rai speaks to media on April 27, 2025. (CityNews Picture / Ben Bouguerra)
“It could be unfair for me to take a position on actual numbers, because the victims had been taken to a number of hospitals within the area, so not only one hospital, a number of hospitals. And it will be unfair to the details of the case and unfair to the households for me to launch any quantity at this level,” he defined.
“This can be a tragic incident. This isn’t one thing we’re used to in our stunning metropolis, and all of our law enforcement officials, paramedics, fireplace (fighters), everyone seems to be totally supporting the household and members of the group, and we’re going to proceed to take action all through this ordeal, as we piece collectively what’s occurred right here,” Rai defined.
How the driving force was capable of get into the road competition, Rai declined to deal with. “All occasions that we maintain in Vancouver, about 3,000 a yr, are robustly assessed. It’s a whole metropolis of Vancouver course of — fireplace, police, site visitors management, each stakeholder is engaged in it. So, we’re nonetheless working by means of precisely what was cordoned off, and the way this occurred with the automobile.”
Numerous folks have been killed and a number of others injured after a person drove right into a crowd at a Filipino competition in Vancouver on April 26, 2025. (CityNews Picture)
One witness tells 1130 NewsRadio that their daughter was serving to run a meals truck on the Lapu Lapu Pageant when the incident unfolded. They are saying there have been all of the sudden screams as the driving force of a black SUV ripped by means of the gang, putting greater than a dozen folks.
The witness says a number of folks got CPR, and claims the driving force of the SUV tried to get out of the automobile and flee on foot. They are saying the driving force was held by a number of folks on the scene till police arrived.
Abigail tells 1130 NewsRadio that she and her mates had been close to John Oliver Secondary Faculty after they heard the revving of a automobile.
“After which we hear folks shouting. We heard ‘bang, bang, bang’ after which after we went to look, that’s once I noticed one particular person mendacity already on the road and I referred to as 911,” she stated.
UPDATE: #VPDNews: Vancouver Police investigates mass casualty incident at neighbourhood block social gathering
A suspect has been arrested by Vancouver Police after a number of folks had been killed and a number of others injured at a neighbourhood road social gathering in South Vancouver earlier tonight.…
– Vancouver Police (@vancouverpd) April 27, 2025
“Everybody was panicking. Once I went in the direction of the place the automobile when, that’s once I noticed much more folks that had been injured, some already lifeless. Damaged arms, damaged our bodies, about 20 casualties, or 30,” she added.
Abigail says the automobile’s airbags had deployed, and the driving force was nowhere to be seen. She says that one particular person she spoke to noticed the driving force, who was carrying a white t-shirt, bounce over a fence.
“Once I received there, the automobile was already stopped, parked, the driving force’s door is open, however the driver just isn’t there,” Abigail stated.
On scene right here in East Vancouver for the tragedy that occurred earlier tonight. A number of folks lifeless and extra injured after struck drive by means of the Lapu Lapu block social gathering. Keep tuned to @Citynewsvan for the newest. pic.twitter.com/u4wrf9iLXf
— Angelyna Mintz (@AngelynaMintz) April 27, 2025
She explains that it felt like 5 or 10 minutes earlier than police and ambulances received to the scene.
“It was in whole chaos,” she stated.
Abigail is not sure of how the automobile and driver had been capable of get into the world with the meals vehicles, as she explains that the world was barricaded. “So, it’s like, it’s a must to get by means of that alley to get by means of to that road,” she stated.
Numerous folks have been killed and a number of others injured after a person drove right into a crowd at a Filipino competition in Vancouver on April 26, 2025. (CityNews Picture)
One other says she and a few mates had been sitting down consuming when abruptly they heard “actually loud bangs.”
“I whipped my head and noticed this automobile, at the very least going 90 (kilometres an hour). There’s positively folks that received damage, killed. … It’s a very stunning sight,” she advised CityNews.
“It’s so scary. We’re nonetheless in shock after what occurred. … Ambulances and stretchers received pulled out, I additionally noticed that there was a bit of child that received pulled within the stretcher, it was actually unhappy,” she stated. “I had no time to determine what sort of automobile it was, as a result of it was form of a ‘blink of a watch.’ It was actually quick.”
Footage posted on social media reveals victims and particles strewn throughout an extended stretch of street, with dozens of individuals mendacity motionless on the bottom.
Tragedy at Vancouver’s Lapa Lapa Lapa Pageant Tonight. ????
An SUV drove into the gang, leaving a number of lifeless and injured. The driving force is in custody, however we nonetheless have family and friends we haven’t heard from.
Please pray for Vancouver’s Filipino group. https://t.co/w3Gn2crc9E pic.twitter.com/8D9MUrjnsi
— Kollective Hustle (previously TFCU Official) (@TheOfficial_KH) April 27, 2025
A black Audi SUV with a crumpled entrance part may very well be seen in nonetheless pictures from the scene.
One video from the scene reveals an individual mendacity lifeless beneath a meals truck, with an individual within the background yelling to first responders, “There’s a child, there’s a child below the truck!”
Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry says that he’s listening to that the particular person “deliberately” drove the automobile into the gang.
“It’s a horrible, horrible, horrible day for our metropolis,” Fry stated.
He says that this sort of tragedy is one thing that Vancouver has by no means skilled earlier than, “Not in my time in council, not in my reminiscence as a resident.”
We’ve added paramedics in 7 extra ambulances & 2 supervisor automobiles to assist tackle name volumes after many employees reached out and supplied to come back in. https://t.co/9eNbCLIDnh
— BC Emergency Well being Companies (@BC_EHS) April 27, 2025
“This isn’t the form of factor that we’ve skilled earlier than … it’s simply horrible,” Fry added.
In a put up to social media, B.C.’s Emergency Well being Companies says it’s seeing some delays in its response instances throughout the Decrease Mainland as a result of incident in Vancouver.
“In case you aren’t certain you want paramedics tonight, please name 811,” it stated. “We recognize your persistence as we reply to those that need assistance probably the most first.”
Native federal NDP candidate Don Davies was on the competition simply hours earlier. He tells CityNews that the incident is simply “stunning, appalling.”
“The occasion this morning was stuffed with pleasure and celebration. 1000’s of individuals gathering collectively to rejoice Filipino tradition. I’m simply shocked, and my coronary heart goes out to all the victims and their households, and people who find themselves injured, and simply making an attempt to course of that that is in Vancouver-Kingsway, in my using,” he defined.
Davies was door-knocking in his using when the incident occurred.
“I noticed emergency automobiles and police automobiles screaming by. And it grew to become obvious fairly rapidly that one thing main had occurred, as a result of there weren’t simply three or 4 police automobiles, there have been heavy-duty emergency response automobiles and ambulances, and so I began checking my feed, and somebody despatched me a bit of little bit of reside footage of what had occurred. And I noticed there was a devastating assault with many, many individuals injured,” he defined.
“This may be the worst single day of an assault on harmless folks that I can keep in mind,” he added.
“My coronary heart goes as much as the Filipino group, and it’s some of the vibrant, pretty communities that we have now within the Decrease Mainland, in Canada, advert to have their celebration marred by such an appalling act of destruction, it simply … it simply makes me sick to my abdomen and my prayers belong to all people within the Filipino group and bigger group.
“We’ll get by means of this, however for now, we’re simply gonna need to grieve and attempt to discover out and make sense of what occurred,” Davies stated.
Former police officer and MP Harjit Sajjan tells CityNews that he couldn’t consider what he was studying when he acquired a message in regards to the tragedy.
“I didn’t consider that it was actual. … This can be a household occasion, I simply can’t think about the individuals who, what they witnessed; what they’re going by means of, the victims’ households. I simply need the households to know that we’re right here for them. That’s the one purpose I’m right here, and the Vancouver Police, I’ve the utmost confidence, I’m a former member, they’ll resolve this and supply all the required info. Proper now, that is nearly displaying the group that we care,” he stated.
–With information from Srushti Gangdev, Chad Harris, Emma Crawford, Charlie Carey, David Nadalini, Angelyna Mintz, Jack Rabb, Shravan Raghavan, Ben Bouguerra, Dean Recksiedler, Courtney Howe, and Ridley Wilson.
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