THE LATEST:

• Police have confirmed 11 people are dead, and dozens more injured, after an SUV rammed into people at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver Saturday night.
• Vancouver police have confirmed a 30-year-old man is in custody in the case, and has not yet been charged.
• Officials say they are not investigating the attack as an act of terrorism, and the suspect has had previous interactions with police and mental health workers.
• Organizers of the event say they’re receiving support from around the world, and the Filipino community would “show true resilience” in the face of the tragedy.
• Read more updates on CBC’s live page.

Vancouver police say 11 people have been killed and dozens more injured after an SUV was driven into attendees at a festival organized by the Filipino community on Saturday evening.

The crash, which occurred just after 8 p.m. PT on Saturday, happened as the Lapu Lapu Festival was winding down in the Sunset neighbourhood of South Vancouver.

It’s the second year that the festival has taken place in Vancouver, and police say they weren’t aware beforehand of specific threats against the festival, which is named after an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th century.

According to police, the crash happened on East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street, and is not being investigated as an act of terrorism. A 30-year-old Vancouver man has been arrested in the case.

WATCH | Eyewitness describes scene of crash: 

Vancouver resident Sheldon Nipshank was at the scene after a deadly car-ramming incident at the Lapu Lapu Day festival on Saturday. Nipshank describes what he saw and heard, adding that it’s a traumatic event and he hopes ‘everybody gets through this.’

The event was organized by the Filipino B.C. group. On Sunday, chair RJ Aquino said the community was receiving support from around the world.

“It’s not lost on us … that the spirit of the festival was about that resistance, resilience, that courage, that strength,” he told a news conference.

“And you know, we’re going to have to call that up in ourselves.”

A man leaves flowers on a fence, near the location where a vehicle rammed into crowd at a street festival Saturday night in Vancouver. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press)

Aquino said organizers of the event would share details on how to send monetary support to those affected in due course — but asked for grieving families’ privacy to be respected.

At a prayer vigil packed with people at St. Mary the Virgin South Hill Church at Fraser Street and 49th Avenue, just blocks from the site of the crash, Father Expedito Farinas called the incident “heartbreaking beyond words.”

“We will support each other through this unbearable pain and continue to include them in our prayers,” he told the congregation, most of whom are of Filipino descent, and those in attendance.

B.C. NDP MLA Mable Elmore, left, and Filipino B.C. chair RJ Aquino, right, were visibly emotional as they held a news conference on Sunday morning. (CBC)

At the site of the crash in Vancouver’s Sunset neighbourhood, even as officers continued to gather evidence, residents arrived to place tributes and honour those who died.

“I just feel a lot of sorrow and sadness for all the families, it’s very tough,” said resident Paul Xiong, whose family was at the festival just hours before the tragedy.

“It could have been us in this situation, too,” he said.

A young child and his mother leave a teddy bear and flowers near the crash location. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press)

Not being investigated as terrorism

At a news conference Sunday morning, interim Vancouver police chief Steve Rai called it the “darkest day in the city’s history.”

“It is hard to make sense of something so senseless, and I know there are questions about whether this tragedy could have been prevented,” Rai said.

He said police consulted with the city and festival organizers and determined that dedicated officers and heavy police vehicles were not necessary at the Lapu Lapu Day festival.

WATCH | Rai calls it ‘darkest day in city’s history’: 

Vancouver police say the number of dead from a car-ramming on Saturday night is now 11, with dozens of others injured. A 30-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the incident at the Lapu Lapu Day street festival. Interim police Chief Steve Rai said it was ‘the darkest day in our city’s history.’

He added that the crash happened behind the site of the festival at John Oliver Secondary School, on a street lined with food trucks, as the festival was winding down.

There were no heavy barriers deployed at the scene, according to Rai, as the event was primarily held within the school itself. 

Rai said they will now be working with the city “to review all of the circumstances surrounding the planning of this event.” He said there were zero police issues with the festival last year.

“The system had worked up to this point — but this will be a watershed moment for city operations, police, ambulance, and all stakeholders,” he said.

In response to questions from reporters, Rai said the crash was not being investigated as an act of terrorism, as police do not believe there was religious or political ideology behind it.

“I can tell you the individual we have in custody has a significant history of interactions with police and health-care professionals related to mental health,” Rai said.

“I’m unable to publicly identify the person because charges have not yet been laid.”

WATCH | Rai says crash not being investigated as act of terrorism: 

Vancouver interim police Chief Steve Rai says the suspect in Saturday’s deadly car-ramming at a Filipino festival has a history of interactions with police and heatlh-care professionals related to mental health. Police say they do not believe the suspect’s motives included terrorism.

Politicians offer condolences

Condolences have poured in from across the political spectrum — including from the leaders of the main federal political parties.

WATCH | Federal leaders express condolences: 

Prime Minister Mark Carney said all Canadians are mourning after the driver of an SUV drove into a crowd at a Filipino Canadian street festival Saturday. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was at the Lapu Lapu Day festival just minutes before it happened, while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also spoke of the incident on Sunday. Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/9.6737566

B.C. Premier David Eby was among those who spoke at the vigil at the church, saying that in his experience, the Filipino community had only ever been about love and family.

“We’re here today. We all stand together with the Filipino community today. And I know that’s actually the case around the world,” he said.

Eby said the province would work with the City of Vancouver and police on event security going forward, promising that they would get the resources and information they need to ensure safe celebrations.

Premier David Eby says British Columbians have a right to be angry after the deadly crash. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

“This individual intentionally drove a vehicle into a crowd of people,” the premier said on Sunday afternoon. “What we don’t know is why, and I’m counting on police, I’m counting on our justice system, to get the answers that we need.”

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement that flags in the city would fly at half-mast until further notice, and a 24-hour assistance centre had been set up at the nearby Douglas Park Community Centre to help those affected.

Statistics Canada says more than 174,000 people of Filipino descent represent 3.5 per cent of the province’s total population, and they’re the third-largest cultural group in B.C. behind those of South Asian and Chinese ancestry.