9 people killed after man drives car into Vancouver festival

At least nine people were killed when a man drove through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver on Saturday evening, Canadian police said in an X post on Sunday.

Police said they had arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver man at the scene, who was "known" to them. The suspect was initially chased down and held by people at the scene. A number of people were also injured, reports reuters.

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One witness told CTV News he saw a black vehicle driving erratically in the area of the festival just before the crowd was struck.

"At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism," Vancouver police said in an X post.

The incident happened shortly after 8 p.m. (0300 GMT) near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street, where the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party, celebrating a Philippine national hero, was taking place.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X: "I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu-Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening."

Canada's federal election takes place on Monday. Officials from Carney's Liberal Party said the prime minister's campaign events would be delayed on Sunday morning after the Vancouver incident.

Vancouver's Mayor Ken Sim and British Columbia Premier David Eby posted similar comments on X.

The government of British Columbia officially recognised April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, acknowledging the cultural contributions of the Filipino-Canadian community, one of the largest immigrant groups in the province._Agencies.