Vancouver car rampage: Cops say no terror link in Lapu Lapu festival mishap but suspect held. Who is he? | World News

The incident happened shortly after 8 pm on Sunday when members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood.

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

Lapu Lapu festival incident: Who is the suspect?

While Canada Police said vehicle hitting crowd was ‘not an act of terrorism’, a 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police posted on social media platform X.

Not much was immediately known about the driver, however, news agency AFP quoted a police spokesperson telling journalists at the scene that he was a “lone suspect” known to cops.

The 30-year-old suspect was “known to police in certain circumstances”, a BBC report quoted acting police chief Steve Rai – although he did not elaborate further.

Canada 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.

Footage that surfaced on social media and verified by AFP showed a black SUV with a damaged hood parked on a street littered with debris, meters 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 Saturday.

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.

Saturday’s event comprised a parade, a film screening, dancing and a concert, with two members of the Black Eyed Peas featured on the lineup published by the organizers.

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.

Canadians will vote on Monday after a frenetic election race where candidates have tried to woo voters on issues including rising living costs and dealing with US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.