30-year-old in custody after mass casualty at Vancouver street festival
“The crowd immediately called police. We then took custody of the subject, and he is now in our custody…” said Rai.
Earlier on Saturday evening, police said the incident was a “mass casualty event,” but in Rai’s update, he was unable to provide an official number of deceased or injured victims.
“There was a number of deceased, a number of also injured,” stated Rai. He noted that he “didn’t want to be unfair to the victims’ families,” releasing an official number of deceased and injured at this time.
He confirmed the suspect “was known to police in certain circumstances,” but was unable to provide any further details about the suspect and possible criminal history.
#VPDNews: Vancouver Police investigates mass casualty incident at neighbourhood block party
A suspect has been arrested by Vancouver Police after several people were killed and multiple others injured at a neighbourhood street party in South Vancouver earlier tonight.
At… pic.twitter.com/GaFqiO2fIA
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) April 27, 2025
Furthermore, at 1:34 a.m. on Sunday, the VPD stated the following in a post on X: “We are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism.”
The street festival was held to celebrate Vancouver’s Filipino community and culture. It commemorates a fearless Indigenous Visayan Chieftain from Mactan, Philippines.
Photos and videos circulating on social media show a very significant emergency response in the area, with some footage capturing numerous people seriously injured or motionless on the ground. The footage shows that the incident occurred within a food truck area of the festival.
Condolences pour in for victims and community
Condolences for the victims and community members impacted by the tragic event have poured in from across Metro Vancouver and the country.
Prime Minister Mark Carney stated he was “devastated to hear about the horrific events.”
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
Canada’s other federal party leaders also put out statements.
I am shocked by the horrific news emerging from Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day Festival tonight.
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.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) April 27, 2025
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
B.C. Premier David Eby said he was “shocked [and] heartbroken” to hear of lives lost and injuries at the festival.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones,” he added.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event. We will work to provide more information as soon as we can, but at this time Vancouver Police have confirmed that there are a number of fatalities and multiple injuries,” read a statement by Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim this evening.
Rai noted that the VPD will have more details to share about the incident on Sunday.
With files from Kenneth Chan and Daniel Chai
- You might also like:
- 'Darkest day in our city's history': Suspect involved in Vancouver festival tragedy was known to police
- 'Number of people killed' after car plows into Vancouver street festival
- Canada's leaders react to mass casualty incident at Vancouver street festival
- Today's Vancouver Sun Run to go ahead after street festival tragedy