Nine killed as driver plows into Vancouver festival crowd

A driver killed at least nine people when he plowed a vehicle through a crowd at a Filipino cultural celebration in Vancouver, police in the Canadian city said Sunday, Report informs via AFP.

Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8:00 pm (0300 GMT Sunday) 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.

"We can confirm nine people have died after a man drove through a crowd at last night's Lapu Lapu Festival," Vancouver police said on X.

Police said earlier they had arrested a 30-year-old local man who was a "lone suspect" known to them.

"At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism," they added.

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."

Footage posted online and verified by AFP shows 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.

Saturday's event featured 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.