Driver plows into Vancouver Filipino festival, killing multiple people
Vehicle involved in deadly Vancouver festival crash sits damaged with driver's door open in Canada on April 27, 2025. (Photo via X/@crownintelgroup)
A driver plowed into a crowd celebrating a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver on Saturday evening, killing multiple people and injuring others, police said.
“A number of people have been killed, and multiple others are injured,” Vancouver Police announced on X. “The driver is in custody.”
The incident occurred shortly after 8:00 p.m. local time in the city’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood, where members of the Filipino community had gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day, a commemoration of a 16th-century Filipino anti-colonial leader.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wrote on X.
Festival security guard Jen Idaba-Castaneto described a chaotic scene to local news outlet Vancouver Is Awesome: “Bodies everywhere. You don’t know who to help, here or there. It’s so shocking.”
Emergency crews responded to the scene, which earlier in the day had hosted large crowds for the block party celebration.
The festival featured a parade, film screening, dancing, and a concert, with two members of the Black-Eyed Peas reportedly on the lineup published by organizers.
The deadly incident comes just two days before Canadians head to the polls for a national election. Political leaders quickly expressed condolences.
“I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening,” Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X.
“We are all mourning with you.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he was “shocked & heartbroken” by the news, while Jagmeet Singh, leader of the left-wing New Democratic Party, extended thoughts to “the victims and their families—and Vancouver’s Filipino community.”
The tragedy occurred approximately one year after Canadian Nathaniel Veltman was sentenced to life in prison for running down a Muslim family with his truck in London, Ontario, in 2021.
That ruling marked the first in Canada to establish a link between white supremacy and terrorism in a murder case.
Authorities have not yet released information about the identity of the driver in custody or potential motives in Saturday’s incident.
