Vancouver, BC
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
“Shocked, devastated and heartbroken” : PM Carney said of event as the party cancels Calgary rally due to tragedy
Eleven people were killed and multiple others were injured, including children, when a man in his 30s drove his compact SUV through a crowd in the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party in Vancouver at past 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26.
As the nation mourns one of the Canada’s most tragic incidents in recent years, Prime Minister Mark Carney extended his condolences to the Filipino community but quickly assured that there was no “active threat to Canadians” to allay fears that the attack was terror-related.
“Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughter. Those families are living every family’s nightmare,” Carney said in a statement aired at 7 a.m. Sunday or about 11 hours after the tragedy struck.
Vancouver Police Department (PD) Interim Police Chief Steve Rai, in his second press briefing at 9am PST today, confirmed that the suspect has “mental health issues” and the number of fatalities could increase based on the victims who are seriously injured because of his actions.
“The number of dead could rise in the coming days or weeks,” Rai told the media.
As the festival organizers, the Filipino-Canadian community and the public in general are still trying to make sense of the “senseless attack,” Rai said he could not yet name the suspect until formal charges are filed.
He just said that the suspect remains in police custody and that this person has had “significant history of interactions with police and health authorities due to mental health issues.”
In his initial press briefing at past midnight or just hours after the incident, Rai confirmed that bystanders and eyewitnesses arrested the driver of the black Audi SUV and called Vancouver PD.
Videos of the alleged suspect are circulating over social media showing him as a man in black shirt, of Asian features, saying “sorry” to an angry crowd while men who looked like security personnel were standing in front of him. He was standing next to the school fence where the main event was being held.
While the Canadian Government and the police were quick to assure that this was not a terror attack, Rai said they are still looking at the motive of the suspect and what could have been done to prevent it.
“We are working on getting answers,” he assured.
According to initial investigation, the suspect approached the area from the west and drove to the crowd along an interior road where the food trucks were located. The main event was held at a high school on 41st and Fraser St. in South Vancouver.
The event was scheduled to wrap up at 8 p.m. and the attack was reported to have happened at around 8:14 p.m. Rai said around a total of 100,000 people were at the event yesterday.
Filipino BC, the organizer of the event, has issued statements via their social media accounts assuring of assistance to the victims, their families and whoever may need it.
Because the event was on its second run and with the previous event having no major issues, street barricades and heavy police presence were not included in the security plan during the risk assessment conducted by the City of Vancouver, Vancouver PD and the organizers.
