Vancouver Filipino festival accident that left 11 dead and at least six injured during wasn’t a terrorist attack police say with the 30 year old driver previously known to cops for ‘mental health issues’. Authorities have yet to release to motive or suspect identity behind Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy.
Vancouver Police have announced that they believe a SUV car that plowed into revellers at a Filipino festival, Saturday night, killing 11 and injuring countless others, ‘was not act of terrorism.’
Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai said a 30-year-old Vancouver man had been arrested for Saturday night’s attack in which an SUV plowed through a crowded South Vancouver street at high speed.
Vancouver Police stated on X that they are ‘confident’ the incident was not an act of terrorism, and the death toll stood at nine as of 3 a.m. Sunday.
Tragedy struck Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival on Apr 26, 2025, as a 30-year-old drove an SUV into the crowd, killing 9, including a child, and injuring many. Driver is in custody. pic.twitter.com/0Gri99MJrK
— 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇 (@pr0ud_americans) April 27, 2025
Vancouver Filipino festival attack
Rai says multiple people were also injured but the exact number of casualties wouldn’t be released until families had been notified.
Not immediately clear is whether the incident was accidental or a case of reckless conduct or the outcome of a man with mental illness.
Of note at the time of the suspect’s arrest, police indicated the man was ‘known to them.’ In what capacity the SUV driver was known to authorities, including whether he had been previously arrested, had a crime sheet or prior mental episodes remained unclear.
Police confirmed a man was taken into custody by witnesses who were in the crowd.
A video shared on social media shows a man trying to cover his face while people shout at him. In the video, he can be heard saying ‘I’m sorry.’
The un-identified 30 year old male, at no point appears harmed or hurt as he is held by security personnel along a fence perimeter.
The driver of the vehicle who drove into the crowd at Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver. Asian male and possibly mentally challenged
#Canada #Vancouver #Ontario #Toronto #onpoli #canpoli #USA #BreakingNews #terror #Montreal #Quebec #Alberta #Calgary
— Open Mic X (@OpenMicX) April 27, 2025
Suspect who drove into crowd at Lapu Lapu Festival identified as 30-year-old Vancouver man. A man driving a black Audi SUV drove into a large crowd attending the Lapu Lapu Day Festival near East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street. #Canada Driver arrested.https://t.co/CZKAfOYeC2 pic.twitter.com/FreItY5q4V
— News Channel3 Now (@newschannel3now) April 27, 2025
‘[The driver] just slammed the pedal down and rammed into hundreds of people.
Eyewitness, Yoseb Vardeh, a food truck operator, said he heard ‘an engine rev’ before looking down the road and seeing ‘bodies everywhere’. ‘He went through the whole block, he went straight down the middle,’ he told local media.
The Vancouver Sun reported that ‘the event was coming to a close, with many lingering after a concert, when a vehicle suddenly drove into a pedestrian-only area,’ ‘revving past food trucks and striking a number of festival goers.’
Abigail Andiso told the Vancouver Sun she was with friends when ‘she heard two loud bangs, then screaming and yelling.’
‘There were bodies on the street. They were run over. Some were already dead on the spot,’ Andiso, who called 911, said.
Andiso’s companion, Dale Selipe, saw a toddler injured, another child with an open scalp wound, bodies twisted and ‘a lady with her eyes staring up, one of her legs was already broken.’
Kris Pangilinan, a Toronto-based journalist, told Canada’s CBC that as crews lifted a barricade that had been blocking traffic to allow a vehicle to enter, one car suddenly sped up and struck a person.
‘[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,’ he added.
‘It was like a war zone . There were bodies all over the ground,’ he said.
