Multiple people killed as driver ploughs into Vancouver, Canada festival crowd

Several people have been killed after a driver ploughed into a crowd celebrating the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver, Canada.

Canadian police arrested a man after a car ploughed into a street party in the western city of Vancouver, killing a number of people.

Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8pm (3pm NZT) in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day.

The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada’s election.

A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police posted on X.

The driver was a “lone suspect” known to police, police told journalists at the scene.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the “horrific events”.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver,” he wrote on X.

“We are all mourning with you.”

I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening.

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…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 27, 2025

According to police, “a number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured” in the tragedy.

Footage posted online and verified by AFP shows a black SUV with a damaged hood parked on a street littered with debris, metres from first-aiders tending to people lying on the ground.

Photos published by Canadian broadcaster CBC showed emergency crews at the scene as well as large crowds at the block party earlier.

I am horrified to learn of an incident at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day celebrations that injured and killed innocent people.

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…

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) April 27, 2025

Festival security guard Jen Idaba-Castaneto told local news site Vancouver Is Awesome that she saw “bodies everywhere”.

“You don’t know who to help, here or there,” she said.

British Columbia premier David Eby said he was “shocked & heartbroken” by the news, while city mayor Ken Sim said “our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Election season

The event featured a parade, a film screening, dancing and a concert, with two members of the Black Eyed Peas featured on the line-up published by the organisers.

Lapu Lapu Day is celebrated in the Philippines in remembrance of indigenous chief Lapulapu, who led his men to defeat Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in battle in 1521.

The deadly incident comes a year after Canadian Nathaniel Veltman was sentenced to life in prison for running down a Muslim family with his truck on the street in London, Ontario in 2021.

The ruling in Veltman’s case was the first in Canada to make a link between white supremacy and terrorism in a murder case.

Canadians go to the polls on Monday after a frenetic election race where candidates have wooed voters on issues including US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and rising living costs.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is favoured to win after assuring voters he can stand up to Washington’s barrage of sweeping tariffs.

– Agence France-Presse