Initially, nobody thought it was strange that a black Audi SUV had driven around a portable barrier into a street crowded with festivalgoers waiting at food trucks and browsing local artisans.
It was around 8 p.m. on Saturday, and Apl.de.ap, a Filipino American rapper and one of the founding members of the Black Eyed Peas, had just wrapped up a concert at the Lapu Lapu Festival, hosted by the Filipino community in Vancouver, British Columbia.
At first, the large SUV moved slowly through the crowd, and Kris Pangilinan, who was operating a clothing booth, figured it had permission to enter to assist another vendor in packing up.
Then, the situation escalated.
“He hit someone near the vendor area,” Mr. Pangilinan recounted on Sunday after a night filled with anxiety. “Suddenly, I heard the rev of the engine followed by a loud crash: He struck dozens of people.”
Moments later, police were using tables from Mr. Pangilinan’s tent as makeshift stretchers.
At least 11 people, aged between 5 and 65, lost their lives in the incident, which Prime Minister Mark Carney termed a “car-ramming attack.” Many others sustained injuries, with interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai warning that some of these individuals might not survive.
Witnesses reported that the SUV driver attempted to flee the scene but was subdued by bystanders. A 30-year-old man was taken into custody on Sunday, though no charges have been filed at this stage, according to Mr. Rai.
While the chief refrained from discussing any motivating factors, he noted that police had previously interacted with the suspect regarding mental health concerns. David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, stated that the actions of the driver appeared to be “intentional.”
Officials ruled out terrorism as a motive, a conclusion supported by national security experts, Mr. Carney noted. “We do not consider there to be any ongoing threat to Canadians,” he said.
Throughout the night and into Sunday, many members of Vancouver’s vibrant Filipino community were frantic, trying to figure out who was missing, injured, or unharmed.
“I don’t think my phone has ever buzzed this much in my life,” said R.J. Aquino, chair of the Filipino Canadian Community and Cultural Society of B.C. “There was a lot of anxiety, and relief when someone would respond.”
Mable Elmore, a provincial lawmaker and festival organizer who opened her office as a safe space for those fleeing the chaos, struggled at times to hold back tears at a news conference.
“It was a beautiful day for a celebration,” she reminisced about the festival’s perfect weather.
Lapu Lapu Day, an annual festival in the Philippines, honors Datu Lapu Lapu, an Indigenous leader who resisted Spanish colonization. In Vancouver, this festival became an annual event for the first time in 2023.
“We are in immense pain,” Ms. Elmore expressed. “The Filipino community is resilient, and we will unite through this tragedy with love and support from the wider community.”
This tragedy disrupted the last day of campaigning for a Canadian election focused largely on President Trump’s tariffs and his intention to integrate Canada as the 51st state. Both Mr. Carney and Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party, altered their Sunday plans significantly. While Mr. Carney intended to visit Vancouver, he would do so to meet with mourners instead of rallying supporters.
“Last night, families lost their loved ones — a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter,” Mr. Carney told reporters in Hamilton, Ontario. “These families are facing a nightmare that no family should endure.”
To the Filipino Canadians, he said: “I stand with you in your grief. All Canadians are with you.”
Pierre Poilivere, the Conservative rival to Mr. Carney, continued his campaign but made a stop at a Filipino church in suburban Toronto.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed on Sunday that he was “deeply saddened to hear about the tragic event” in Vancouver, sending his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of those affected.
Vancouver is celebrated for its diversity and multiculturalism, with over half of its population identifying as a “visible minority” based on the 2021 census.
Mr. Eby remarked on Sunday that Filipinos play a vital role in various sectors like health, child care, and long-term care facilities.
“We will stand by them and support them as they have supported us,” Mr. Eby said. “Now it’s our turn to care for them.”
Jacob Bureros, a hip-hop artist who performed at the festival, described how he was signing autographs and enjoying his time when he heard the SUV roar through the crowd and witnessed the driver attempt to flee.
“He jumped from the vehicle and ran, so I veered off to the side,” Mr. Bureros recounted. “Three of us blocked him, shouting at him.” He added that a security guard and an event organizer intervened to protect the suspect from being harmed.
This incident marks the first mass vehicle attack in Canada since 2021, when a far-right extremist drove into five members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario, resulting in four fatalities. A judge ruled that the individual was motivated by white supremacist beliefs, categorizing the act as terrorism.
In 2018, a man in Toronto used a rental van to strike and kill 11 pedestrians, injuring another 15, with most victims being women.
In recent years, Canadian police have commonly blocked access to large crowd events using snowplows or dump trucks filled with gravel.
However, such precautions were not enacted at the site of the Vancouver incident.
Emphasizing the authorities’ belief that the attack was a singular occurrence, police allowed a 10-kilometer run, which attracted over 45,000 participants last year, to proceed on Sunday.
Nonetheless, the unusual nature of the event did little to bring comfort to the Filipino community.
“Why us — why would someone attack such a wonderful community?” Mr. Pangilinan, the merchant, pondered. “This is a reality I will have to cope with for the rest of my life. We will pay tribute to those who were affected and those who lost their lives.”
Sarah Berman contributed reporting from Vancouver.
