Number of people' killed after vehicle drives into Vancouver street festival " Live Reporting "
Summary
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Multiple people are dead and others injured after a man drove an SUV into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, police say
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A 30-year-old man from the British Columbia city is in custody, Acting Police Chief Steve Rai says
The Filipino community' Lapu Lapu Day festival was under way when the incident took place shortly after 20:00 local time (04:00 BST)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's "devastated" to learn about the deadly incident - as do the leaders of the Conservative Party and the ND
Breaking
Multiple dead after car drives into crowd in Vancouver, police saypublished at 08:30
A "number of people" have been killed and "multiple others" injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a festival in Vancouver, police say.
Posting on X, Vancouver Police say the incident took place at 20:00 local time (04:00 BST) in the Canadian city.
The driver is in custody, the statement adds.
This is a developing story - we'll update you as soon as we have more details.
Police statement in fullpublished at 08:31
We can now bring you the statement from Vancouver Police in full:
"A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival at E. 41st Avenue and Fraser shortly after 8 p.m. tonight.
"The driver is in custody.
"We will provide more information as the investigation unfolds."
Mayor confirms 'horrific' event at Lapu Lapu Day gatheringpublished at 08:42
We're now getting comment from Vancouver's mayor.
Ken Sim says he is shocked and deeply saddened by the "horrific" event that took place at the Lapu Lapu Day gathering - a day that is considered one of the biggest celebrations in the Philippines.
Sim also says police have confirmed there are a number of fatalities and multiple injuries.
"Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver's Filipino community."
NDP leader says 'thoughts with Vancouver's Filipino community'published at 08:51
Image source,Getty ImagesNDP leader Jagmeet Singh - who was at the Lapu Lapu Day event in Vancouver before the incident took place - says he's "horrified to learn" that "innocent people" have been killed and injured.
"As we wait to learn more, our thoughts are with the victims and their families – and Vancouver’s Filipino community, who were coming together today to celebrate resilience."
Singh is running in Canada's federal election (which is happening on Monday) and his riding of Burnaby Central lies just east of where the incident took place today.
Premier of BC confirms suspect in custodypublished at 09:13
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, where Vancouver is located, says he is shocked and heartbroken to hear about the people killed and injured.
He confirms that police are investigating and a suspect is in custody.
"My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones."
What we know so farpublished at 09:14
As more details come in, here’s what we know so far from Vancouver police and government officials:
- A car was driven into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day gathering in Vancouver
- Police say a number of people have been killed and several others injured
- The incident happened at 20:00 local time(04:00 BST)
- The driver is in custody
- It took place on E. 41st Avenue and Fraser St
We’ll bring you more updates as soon as we have them.
First images show first responders at the scenepublished at 09:16
Image source,ReutersWe're now getting some pictures in from Vancouver, which shows the scene after a car drove into a crowd at a festival in the British Columbia city.
The images show people in uniform standing by an ambulance, with a stretcher rolled out beside them.
Canadian PM Mark Carney 'devastated' about deadly incidentpublished at 09:19
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is the incumbent in Monday's federal election, has written on X that he is "devastated" to learn about the events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver.
"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," he says.
"We are monitoring the situation closely, and thankful to our first responders for their swift action."
'My thoughts with Filipino community' - Conservative leader Pierre Poilievrepublished at 09:24
Canada's Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre says he is shocked by the "horrific news" of the incident in Vancouver.
"My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack," he says.
The Lapu Lapu Day block party, which is where people were gathered in Vancouver when a man drove a car into a crowd, is a festival put on by British Columbia's Filipino community.
Police to provide update on Vancouver incident within the hourpublished at 09:27
Local media in Canada are now reporting that police will hold a public update at midnight local time (08:00 BST).
Stay with us as we bring you the key lines from the statement.
Photos show police at the scene in Vancouverpublished at 09:32
We're now seeing images from the scene in Vancouver where the incident occurred.
Police officers can be seen cordoning off the area, with the street seeming to be mostly empty, apart from some parked cars and first responders who remain at the scene.
Horrifying news from the heart of our neighbourhood,' MP sayspublished at 09:53
Harjit Sajjan, MP for Vancouver South, says the incident that unfolded at the city's Lapu Lapu Day block party hit in "the heart of our neighbourhood".
"As we await more information our thoughts are with our friends and neighbours in Van South who were celebrating at Lapu Lapu today," he says.
Police investigating a 'mass casualty incident' in Vancouverpublished at 10:09
Vancouver Police say they're investigating a "mass casualty incident" after several people were killed and others injured.
A 30-year-old man from Vancouver was arrested at the scene, according to a statement released in the last few minutes.
At around 20:14 local time (04:14 BST), a man drove into a large crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival near East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street, the statement adds.
Earlier, police had said the incident took place at East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street.
The investigation is ongoing, and police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
Police chief takes questions from reporters at the crime scenepublished at 10:16
Acting Police Chief Steve Rai has been taking some questions at the crime scene in Vancouver.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest from his update.
Police asked about Canadian election connectionpublished at 10:19
Steve Rai is asked whether the incident has anything to do with the upcoming federal election.
He responds by saying "I don't know anything about that".
'One suspect, one vehicle' - police chief sayspublished at 10:22
"One suspect, one vehicle," Steve Rai tells reporters when asked whether police are looking for anyone else.
Rai is asked whether the 30-year-old suspect has a criminal record.
"It would be inappropriate for me to get into those kind of details at this point," Rai says adding it would be "unfair" to make comments on whether the suspect was on bail.
He insists the focus remains on the victims and their families.
Further update to be given laterpublished at 10:22
The brief press conference has ended, with police confirming another update will be given later in the morning local time.
Further update to be given laterpublished at 10:22
The brief press conference has ended, with police confirming another update will be given later in the morning local time.
Suspect was known to police in 'certain circumstances', police saypublished at 10:43
Image Let's quickly round-up some more key comments from the Vancouver Police's news conference:
- Police are working through how the incident in Vancouver unfolded and will have more details in the morning
- Acting Police Chief Steve Rai has said they are dealing with mass casualties with and says there are "multiple injured" and "multiple fatalities"
- "There are still family members who need to be contacted," he added
- Rai has said he did not want to be "unfair to families by putting out numbers that we aren't even sure on yet"
- The 30-year-old suspect was "known to police in certain circumstances" - although he would not elaborate further
- Prior to police arrival the suspect was "taken into custody by people in the crowd"
- The Lapu Lapu Day event went through a "robust security assessment", Rai said
Where the incident happenedpublished at 10:52
As we've been reporting, a man in an SUV drove into a crowd of people who were gathered for a Filipino festival being held in Vancouver at approximately 20:00 local time (04:00 BST), police say.
Filipino BC, the group that hosts the local Lapu Lapu Day festival in Vancouver, shared a map on their website ahead of the festival to show attendees where the block party would be taking place.
Lapu Lapu Day is one of the biggest celebrations in the Philippines and was officially recognised by British Columbia two years ago.
Below is the map from the Lapu Lapu Day website, which highlights a section of road where the festival was happening. It aligns with where police said the incident took place on E. 43rd Avenue and Fraser St.
Green Party co-leader 'horrified and heartbroken'published at 10:52
Image source,ReutersElizabeth May, co-leader of Canada's Green Party, has also taken to social media in the last few hours to express her condolences about the incident.
"My prayers are with Vancouver and its Filipino community as we hold our breath waiting to hear more about the tragedy that took place at Lapu Lapu Day in south Vancouver tonight," she says.
"I’m horrified and heartbroken that such an attack could occur, and on an occasion celebrating Filipino culture, resilience, and resistance. I am sending my love to affected families."
Witness says car drove straight through a crowdpublished at 11:06
Yoseb Vardeh, co-owner of the Bao Buns food truck, was at the scene.
As we've been reporting, the incident happened during the Lapu Lapu Day festival. Vardeh tells BBC World Service’s Weekend programme that the final live performance of the day, the main event, had just finished when a car drove through a narrow street lined with food trucks, including his, "completely straight, right through the crowd".
Yoseb says the vehicle was going about 100km/h (62mph).
He says the driver stopped, tried to run away, and – as he understands it – was caught by people nearby.
"I think he was going for maximum damage," he says, adding that the driver killed some of his customers.
"I just saw bodies underneath people's food trucks, and husbands crying out for their wife, or their kids, it was just horrible."
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