“I couldn’t help them. There’s nothing to do.”
The scene around Fraser Street and 41st Avenue after someone drove into a crowd of people at Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Photo by Kim Bolan /PNG
Another woman who spoke with Postmedia but didn’t want to be identified said she was at the festival doing cleanup and helping fold tents when she got a panicked call from her daughter.
“She said, ‘Mom you have to hide. Someone is driving and trying to run over a lot of people.’”
She saw some people run north towards John Oliver Secondary and headed that way. On the street behind the school, she saw a scene of horror.
“I saw kids on the floor, injuries, crying. Underneath the food trucks there were bodies there. The people who lived in the area were outside and everyone was so shocked.”
Another ambulance came and paramedics came out. One witness told her a car drove straight into the crowd and did not stop. There was no screaming, she was told, because it happened so fast. All that could be heard as it happened was “thud-thud-thud” as the tires ran over people.
Steve Rai, Vancouver Police interim police chief, speaks during a news conference about a vehicle and a suspect involved in an incident at the annual Lapu Lapu Day Block Party celebrating Filipino culture, at East 43rd Avenue and Fraser, in the south of Vancouver on April 26, 2025. Rai said the suspect was known to police. Photo by DON MACKINNON/AFP via Getty Images)
The woman saw a black car with the driver’s door opened, then, a short distance away, she saw police officers chasing after someone.
In a statement posted to X, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he “was shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”
Sim also passed on his condolences to the Filipino community.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” Sim said in his statement.
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 @VancouverPD have confirmed that there are a number of fatalities and multiple injuries. Our thoughts are with…
— Mayor Ken Sim (@KenSimCity) April 27, 2025
Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry, who had been at the Lapu Lapu Day event earlier in the day, returned to the area when he heard what had happened. He told Postmedia that the day had been a fantastic one for the Filipino community and the Vancouver community in general, and said he was shocked this happened.
“It’s just a horrific act of violence that has befallen this event and community,” he said.
Fry and fellow Coun. Sean Orr said normally the city parks dump trucks to block streets for city festivals. That didn’t happen for this one.
B.C. Premier David Eby shared a statement online, offering his condolences, and adding that the province would provide any support the City of Vancouver may need.
Shocked & heartbroken to hear of the lives lost & those injured at the Lapu Lapu festival. Police are investigating & a suspect is in custody. We are in contact with the City of Vancouver and will provide any support needed. My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. https://t.co/VJ5HU58m6f
— David Eby (@Dave_Eby) April 27, 2025
