Vancouver driver plows into crowd of people attending Filipino festival, killing multiple victims

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Multiple dead, others injured after vehicle plows in street festival in Vancouver, Canada

Police say the drive is in custody. It’s not clear whether the act was intentional or an accident. 

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A driver ran a car into a crowd at a Filipino festival in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday night, leaving multiple victims dead and others injured, local authorities said. 

At least nine people were killed when the driver plowed into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day block party shortly after 8 p.m., the Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post. The exact number of injured was not immediately available.

Police said the suspect is a 30-year-old man from Vancouver who was arrested at the scene. No further details about the suspect or a motive were immediately provided.

“At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism,” police said in a post early Sunday.

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Vancouver police on the scene after an SUV plows into a crowd of people at a Filipino festival.  (X/marcmaravillas via Storyful)

The festival was being held in a South Vancouver neighborhood. Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground. A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in still photos from the scene.

Police work on Fraser street, near the site of the Lapu Lapu day block party where a vehicle drove into a crowd killing several people in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, April 26, 2025.  (REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier)

James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, told The Associated Press that he was at the festival when he suddenly heard a car rev its engine. He said he then heard “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought might be a gunshot and described seeing people on the road crying, running and screaming for help.

“So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground,” Cruzat said. “Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured.”

Cruzat said the aftermath he witnessed was unimaginable and “heartbreaking.”

“I couldn’t even imagine that it’s actually happening in real life, because normally we see that on TVs or movies,” he said. “But when you are in that kind of situation, it was really shocking. … You couldn’t do anything but to pray for them.”

Police officers work at the scene, after a vehicle drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu day block party, in what police say has left multiple people killed and injured, in Vancouver, Canada, April 26, 2025. (REUTERS/Chris Helgren)

Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim expressed condolences to the victims in a post on X and said that officials would provide more information when possible.

“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event,” Sim said. “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

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Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” at the violence that unfolded at the festival.

“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,” Carney wrote.

An ambulance is parked at the site of the Lapu Lapu day block party, where a vehicle drove into a crowd killing several people in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, April 26, 2025. (REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier)

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Vancouver Police Department’s Major Crime Section is leading an investigation into the incident.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.