At least new People were killed after a car was taken to a crowd during a street festival in Vancouver, police confirmed.
Authorities of the Western Canadian City said that “several others” had been injured during the incident, which occurred about 20:14 Local time on Saturday (03:14 GMT Sunday).
A 30 -year -old male suspect is in detention and the Vancouver police service said he was “confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism”. An incident survey is underway.
Police said the suspect went to pedestrians at the Lapu Lapu Festival, which celebrates Philippine Culture, east of the 43rd Avenue and Fraser in the south of the city.
Steve Rai, Vancouver police manager, told a press conference that there had been a vehicle and a suspect involved in the incident. He said more details would be published in the morning.
The owner of a catering truck selling Bao buns at the festival, Yoseb Vardeh, told the BBC global service that the attack had taken place just in front of his van.
“This guy, he killed some of my clients,” he said. “There were people waiting for their buns that were affected.”
Mr. Vardeh added: “I got out of my catering truck and I just saw bodies under the restoration trucks of people, husbands shouting for their wives or children … It was simply horrible.”
Uncorified images published on social networks have shown a number of police, ambulances and firefighters on the scene, with injured people lying on the ground.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement on X that he was “devastated to hear about horrible events.”
He continued: “I offer my greatest condolences to those close to those who are killed and injured, to the Canadian Philippine community and everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you.”
He also thanked the emergency speakers for their “fast action”. The Liberal Party, of which he is the leader, later confirmed that his campaign events before the national elections on Monday would be interrupted Sunday morning in the light of the tragedy.
The mayor of Vancouver, Ken Sim “Thoughts are with all those affected and with the Philippine Community of Vancouver during this incredibly difficult period.”
One of the municipal councilors of Vancouver, Peter Fry, told the BBC that local residents had trouble dealing with what had happened.
“This celebration was a huge, fun, dynamic and family street festival, and it was a fantastic event. To see it, it becomes so horrible so quickly and unexpectedly, I think our entire city is in shock,” he said.
Harjit Sajjan, who represented Vancouver South as a liberal deputy but does not seek to be re -elected this year, described events as “absolutely tragic” and said that he would support “the community as well as we can”.
Lapu Lapu Day is celebrated each year in the Philippines on April 27 to commemorate Lapu-Lapu, a national hero who resisted Spanish colonization.
The festival was officially created in Vancouver – which houses 141,230 Canadians of Philippine origin – in 2023. His website says that it “symbolizes cultural harmony and mutual respect that thrive in the British Columbia province”.
The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand, “Bongbong” Marcos Jr said that he had been “broken to hear about the terrible incident”, adding that the Consulate General Philippin would work with the Canadian authorities to ensure that the tragedy had been investigated.
King Charles III, who is also head of state of Canada, said that he and Queen Camilla were “deeply saddened to learn the terrible attack and the loss of life completely tragic in Vancouver”.
He added in a press release: “Our hearts and prayers go to all those whose life was broken by such a desperate tragedy and we send our deepest possible sympathy at some point ago for so much in Canada.”
The leaders of different Canadian political parties also shared condolence messages.
Pierre Poilievre, head of the Conservative Party of Canada, described the incident of “insane attack”, while the leader of the Democratic Party of the new Democrat in British Columbia, David Eby, said that he was “shocked and with a broken heart”.
The leader of the Democratic Party Jagmeet Singh – who had attended the festival but was not present when the incident occurred – said he was “horrified to learn” that innocent had been killed and injured.
“While we are waiting to find out more, our thoughts concern the victims and their families-and the Philippine Community of Vancouver, which met today to celebrate resilience,” he added.
Singh, Hairyvre and Carney are all presented in the Canada Federal Elections on Monday. The district of Singh de Burnaby Central is just in the east of the place where the incident took place.
