A automotive plowed into crowds at a Filipino cultural pageant in Canada, leaving no less than 9 individuals lifeless and lots of injured, in line with police.
The automobile entered the road the place individuals have been attending the Lapu Lapu Day pageant at 8:14 p.m. Saturday, the Vancouver Police Department mentioned in a social media publish.
“As of now, we can confirm nine people have died after a man drove through a crowd at last night’s Lapu Lapu Festival,” the police wrote on X.
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested on the scene and the division’s Major Crime Section is overseeing the investigation, police mentioned.
“At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism,” the police division posted early Sunday.
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 highway, 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 images from the scene.
James Cruzat, a Vancouver business 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 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.”
Vancouver had greater than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of town’s complete 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.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney and different Canadian political figures posted messages expressing shock on the violence, condolences for victims and help for the group 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 Party, 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 Party chief Pierre Poilievre wrote.
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, the province the place Vancouver is situated, mentioned he was shocked and heartbroken. “We are in contact with the City of Vancouver and will provide any support needed,” Eby wrote.
Source: www.dailysabah.com