Police in Canada mentioned they’ve dominated out terrorism as a motivator after a person drove right into a crowd at a Filipino heritage pageant in Vancouver on Saturday evening, killing 11 individuals and injuring dozens of others.
Vancouver Police Interim Chief Steve Rai informed a information convention on Sunday afternoon that the suspect detained in reference to the incident on the Lapu Lapu Day pageant has a historical past of psychological well being points.
“While I’m not prepared to speak about the potential motive, I can now say with confidence that the evidence in this case does not lead us to believe this was an act of terrorism,” he mentioned. “I can also tell you that the person we have in custody does have a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health.”
Wealthy Lam/The Canadian Press by way of AP)
Rai, who mentioned they count on the variety of useless to rise within the coming days or perhaps weeks, known as the incident a “senseless, heartbreaking act of violence.”
“This is the darkest day in our city’s history,” he mentioned.
A Vancouver man, who has not been recognized, was arrested after a automobile entered the road at 8:14 p.m. native time on Saturday and struck individuals attending the pageant, the Vancouver Police Division mentioned. At an earlier information convention, Rai mentioned the suspect was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.
Ufuk Celal Guzel/Anadolu by way of Getty Photographs
Video circulating on social media reveals a younger man in a black hoodie along with his again in opposition to a series hyperlink fence, alongside a safety guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.
“I’m sorry,” the person says, holding his hand to his head.
The pageant was being held in a South Vancouver neighborhood. Video posted on social media confirmed victims and particles strewn throughout an extended stretch of street, with no less than seven individuals mendacity motionless on the bottom. A black SUV with a crumpled entrance part could possibly be seen in nonetheless photographs from the scene.
James Cruzat, a Vancouver enterprise proprietor, was on the occasion and heard a automotive rev its engine after which “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought is likely to be a gunshot.
“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help. So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured,” Cruzat mentioned.
“It was terrible to see that kind of incident, that situation. It was heartbreaking,” Cruzat mentioned. “I couldn’t even imagine that it’s actually happening in real life, because normally we see that on TVs or movies. But when you are in that kind of situation, it was really shocking. … You couldn’t do anything but to pray for them.”
Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim mentioned in a social media publish that the town would supply extra data when doable.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event,” Sim mentioned. “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”
Lapu Lapu Day pageant
Vancouver had greater than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of the town’s whole inhabitants, in line with Statistics Canada, the company that conducts the nationwide census.
Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood as much as Spanish explorers who got here to the Philippines within the sixteenth century. The organizers of the Vancouver occasion mentioned he “represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonization.”
Wealthy Lam/The Canadian Press by way of AP
Prime Minister Mark Carney and different Canadian political figures posted messages expressing shock on the violence, condolences for victims and assist for the neighborhood celebrating its heritage on the pageant.
“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.
“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,” wrote Jagmeet Singh, chief of the New Democratic Get together, who was on the pageant earlier within the day.
“My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack. Thank you to the first responders who are at the scene as we wait to hear more,” Conservative Get together chief Pierre Poilievre wrote.
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, the province the place Vancouver is positioned, mentioned he was shocked and heartbroken. “We are in contact with the City of Vancouver and will provide any support needed,” Eby wrote.
