“Several people” were killed and injured in a “mass casualty” event at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday, April 26, according to local authorities
“A 30-year-old suspect, a Vancouver man, was arrested at the scene,” the Vancouver Police Department confirmed in a statement
The investigation is ongoing
Vancouver Police have arrested a 30-year-old man at the scene of a crash that left “several people killed and multiple others injured” on Saturday, April 26.
In a statement posted to X, local authorities said that they were ‘Investigating a mass casualty incident at a neighborhood block party” in South Vancouver after “a man drove into a large crowd of people attending the Lapu Lapu Day Festival” at approximately 8:14 p.m., near East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street.
“A 30-year-old suspect, a Vancouver man, was arrested at the scene,” the police statement added.
The investigation is ongoing and is being led the Vancouver Police Department’s Major Crime Section, the release continued.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement posted to X.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” Sim added.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney added on X that he was “devastated to hear about the horrific 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 added.
“We are monitoring the situation closely, and thankful to our first responders for their swift action.”
Yoseb Vardeh, who was operating a Bao Buns food truck at the festival, told the BBC that the incident happened just after the final performance of the day and that the vehicle drove “completely straight, right through the crowd” at a speed of around 60 mph.
He added to the outlet that the driver was physically restrained by members of the public after he came to a halt and attempted to run away.
“I think he was going for maximum damage,” Vardeh told the BBC.
“I just saw bodies underneath people’s food trucks, and husbands crying out for their wife, or their kids, it was just horrible,” Vardeh added about the victims, which reportedly included some of his customers.
Vancouver-based artist Kaya Ko appeared at the festival around 1 p.m. Saturday. In a post on Instagram, she described the incident as a “massacre.”
“I’m sending all of my love and prayers out to the families that are affected. My heart is broken,” she wrote on her Instagram story. “How can we come together as a community after this… So much to process. Send your prayers.”
“This was not an accident. This was a massacre,” she continued in a second post. “I am at a loss for words. Praying that everyone is taken care of and praying for the souls, lives taken and families affected by this terrible crime.”
“Spirit guide these souls home and guide our people back to our hearts,” she added in a third message. “May our community come together in love and in prayer. In honour of our lost people. May we all be held through this. Please please please take care and hold each other closely.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the Vancouver Police Department for further information.