EXPLAINER
Suspect arrested after automobile rams into crowd on the Philippine avenue pageant in Canada, killing 9 folks.
Police in Canada have dominated out “terrorism” as a motive for a lethal automobile ramming at a avenue pageant in Vancouver.
No less than 9 folks had been killed and several other injured on Saturday evening whereas they attended celebrations for a serious Filipino pageant.
Investigations are ongoing as a 30-year-old suspect is in custody.
Here’s what to know in regards to the incident and the newest on the bottom:
What occurred in Vancouver?
At 8:14pm on Saturday (03:14 GMT on Sunday), a person drove right into a crowd gathered for Lapu-Lapu Day, in keeping with the Vancouver Police Division.
The pageant’s predominant act had simply concluded, and crews had been taking down the stage, tents and vendor stalls. In addition they lifted a barricade that had been blocking visitors to permit a automobile by when a automobile immediately sped into the realm, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) reported.
Witnesses described the automobile as a black SUV and stated they heard a automobile rev its engine earlier than ploughing into the realm. Photographs of the automobile believed to be concerned circulated on-line with a broken entrance.
A witness who didn’t need to be named advised the Reuters information company that the motive force had tried to run however was chased down by festival-goers and held towards a fence for about 10 minutes till police arrived and arrested him.
Superior life assist ambulances had been dispatched to the scene, the place our bodies had been seen mendacity on the bottom.
About 1am on Sunday (08:00 GMT), police dominated out “an act of terrorism” as a motive for the crash whereas they continued to research the incident.
Presently, we’re assured that this incident was not an act of terrorism.
– Vancouver Police (@vancouverpd) April 27, 2025
The place did the automobile crash in Vancouver?
The incident occurred close to the intersection of East forty first Avenue and Fraser Avenue.
Vancouver is a coastal metropolis in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia. It’s identified for its pure magnificence, together with mountains, forests and the Pacific Ocean.
House to 662,248 folks, it’s thought-about probably the most various cities in Canada. In accordance with the 2021 census, just a little greater than half of the town’s inhabitants recognized with a number of racial minority teams, and at the least 244 totally different cultural origins had been recognized by its residents.
Vancouver additionally has the second largest Filipino inhabitants in Canada after Toronto.
What’s the Lapu Lapu pageant in Vancouver?
It’s an annual celebration within the Philippines to honour their Indigenous chief Datu Lapu-Lapu, who fought towards Spanish colonisation. On April 27, 1521, he led his males in defeating Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan within the Battle of Mactan.
British Columbia formally recognised this date as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023.
Saturday’s occasion marked the second 12 months that Filipino group teams in Vancouver organised a block occasion to commemorate the event. It featured a parade, a movie screening, dancing and a live performance with two members of the Black Eyed Peas featured within the lineup printed by the organisers.
What do we all know in regards to the victims?
Police confirmed early on Sunday that 9 folks have been killed whereas the variety of these injured stays unclear.
Vancouver interim Chief Constable Steve Rai stated at a information convention that the victims had been taken to a number of hospitals within the area.
Who’s the suspect?
The Vancouver Police Division stated its officers took the 30-year-old “lone male” suspect into custody on the scene.
No additional particulars in regards to the man have been launched though Rai stated he was “identified to police in sure circumstances”.
Rai additionally declined to touch upon a video circulating on-line that reveals a younger man in a black hoodie apologising whereas surrounded by shouting bystanders.
What’s the newest on the bottom?
A heavy police presence stays within the space as of early Sunday. A 24-hour help centre for affected people has been established on the Douglas Park Neighborhood Centre.
Moreover, police and sufferer companies professionals have been deployed to help individuals who haven’t heard from associates or members of the family who attended the pageant.
What are the reactions to the Vancouver automobile ramming?
Prime Minister Mark Carney stated he was “devastated” to listen to in regards to the lethal incident.
“I supply my deepest condolences to the family members of these killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian group, and to everybody in Vancouver,” he wrote in a put up on X.
Conservative chief Pierre Poilievre, who’s going through off towards Carney in elections on Monday, stated in a put up on social media that he was “shocked by the horrific information”.
Philippine Senate President Francis Escudero condemned the act and urged the Philippine consulate in Vancouver to offer help to the victims.
