Sunday April 27, 2025 | VANCOUVER, BC [Posted at 10 am PT. latest update 7:37 pm PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Eleven people were killed and many more injured in a vehicle-impact crowd attack in Vancouver last night.
The mass casualty incident just after 8 pm saw a male 30-year-old driver direct the SUV he was driving full-on into crowds of people at a Filipino cultural heritage festival in East Vancouver.
The Vancouver Police Department held a press conference at midnight Saturday night and again this morning around 9:20 am (Pacific Time).
In this morning’s update of the tragedy VPD said that 11 people are dead (update at 2:20 pm – the deceased were ages 5 to 65) as a result of the impact by a lone-driver Audi SUV. That’s up from nine first reported last night and police estimate that the number may increase from among injured people who went taken to nine hospitals in the area; last night it was reported that six people were in critical condition.
Videos by people who were at the event were posted on social media last night showing people’s bodies strewn on the paved roadway next to a school and the front of the SUV which was severely damaged and crumpled.
Some of the audio in online video included shocking remarks such as “there’s a baby under the truck”. Another witness said a woman called out to paramedics that she couldn’t feel her legs.
The severity of the scene clearly impacted first responders, seen in videos and as reported by people interviewed in TV news.
About two dozen people were taken to hospital by about 20 ambulances.
VPD Acting Police Chief, Steve Rai, today confirmed that some of the victims are “very young”.
The driver is in custody. VPD say he is ‘known to police’ related to mental health-related incidents. The SUV was owned by someone “associated with the family,” said Rai this morning.
The festival was held outdoors along eight blocks of roadway. All of the main activity was on a school field. Only the food trucks were on the street that was impacted by the moving SUV.
Hospitals:
Last night some Vancouver-area hospitals declared a code orange (mass casualty event involving an influx of patients overwhelming the hospital’s resource). Today Acting Police Chief Rai thanked medical professionals for working through the night.
As at 11:30 pm last night there were eight people dead (one is a child) and six people were in critical condition. Today that has changed to 11 people deceased. More details to come.
News timeline:
The incident happened around 8:14 pm on Saturday evening, April 26.
- Information was available through social media and local news coverage during the evening.
- Vancouver Police made a brief statement to media at midnight into the early minutes of Sunday April 27.
- Vancouver Police delivered an updated statement around 9:18 am this morning, April 27.
See April 26 breaking-news report about the tragedy at Lapu Lapu Festival, as early details unfolded.
Political campaign impacts:
This is the last day ahead of political party campaigns for the April 28, 2025 general federal election.
The three major party leaders have changed their national campaign itineraries to deliver remarks and attend groups or communities that may be impacted.
- Mark Carney, as prime minister, changed his Liberal campaign to deliver remarks to the country this morning. Rallies that were scheduled for Calgary and Richmond have been cancelled.
- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre changed his itinerary to deliver remarks to at a Filipino church in Toronto.
- NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (who had attended the Lapu Lapu festival just ahead of the incident) delivered remarks this morning from Penticton, BC.
It’s possible the issue of public safety and associated mental health issues — which has been notable during the 35-day campaign — could impact voter choice on their ballots tomorrow.
See Campaign Itineraries here.
Updates to come.
===== RELATED:
- Driver into crowd at Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver causes deaths and injuries (April 26, 2025)
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