A joyous celebration of Filipino culture ended in death and devastation Saturday, after a speeding SUV plowed into a crowd at Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver, killing multiple people and injuring many more. The event was coming to a close, with many lingering after a concert, when a vehicle suddenly drove into a pedestrian-only area along 43rd Avenue, revving past food trucks and striking a number of festival-goers.
Abigail Andiso was with friends nearby when she heard two loud bangs, then screaming and yelling. They ran toward East 43rd Avenue, which had been lined up with food trucks and stalls, and saw a scene of carnage. “There were bodies on the street. They were run over. Some were already dead on the spot,” said Andiso, who called 911.
Dale Selipe, who was with Andiso, saw a toddler injured and another child with an open scalp wound. Many of the bodies were twisted grotesquely. “There was a lady with her eyes staring up, one of her legs was already broken. One person was holding her hand trying to comfort her,” she recounted.
The Vancouver police confirmed a driver had crashed into the crowd at the popular Filipino festival around 8 p.m. Police did not say how many people had been killed or injured. The driver of the SUV was taken into custody and was telling bystanders he was “sorry.” Sources say he appears to have been suffering from mental health issues. Police have said more information will be shared at a news conference scheduled for just after midnight.
Videos posted to social media show the immediate aftermath, with bodies strewn across the road, being tended to by first responders and bystanders. Victims were being rushed to several local hospitals, where staff have been told to prepare for mass casualties.
Yoseb Vardeh is the co-owner of the food truck Bao Buns, which had been stationed at the festival all day. In a phone interview Saturday with Postmedia, Vardeh spoke through tears to describe what had been “an incredible day” that ended in shock and terror. “I didn’t get to see the driver; all I heard was an engine rev. It didn’t make any sense to me because there’s still people here like, it sounded like a car speeding. It didn’t make any f—ing sense,” he said. “And then I look up and there’s people flying. It just happened so f—ing fast.”
Vardeh said the final performer had just ended and that many food trucks, including his, had stayed late past the event’s closing time to serve the many last-minute customers who were still enjoying the evening. It was then that the truck, according to Vardeh, came from the direction of nearby John Oliver Secondary School, drove past a number of market vendors, and sped up before driving down 43rd Avenue, which had been turned into a pedestrian-only area flanked on both sides by food trucks. “I got outside my food truck, I looked down the road and there’s just bodies everywhere,” said Vardeh, as his voice broke. “He went through the whole block, he went straight down the middle.”
Vardeh said he’s unsure how the truck was stopped but said he saw a man being arrested and that police worked quickly to cordon off the area. Vardeh said the man being arrested was telling bystanders to stop filming him. Vardeh, who is half Filipino and was attending the festival for his second year, told his staff to pack up and go home. “I didn’t break down until I got home to my family just five minutes ago,” he said. “This is something that happens in the States, not here.”
“I saw so many people, and they just couldn’t believe what was happening. It was their wife, it was their mom, it was their kid,” he said. “All these people were shocked, walking around and they didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t help them. There’s nothing to do.”
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 carnage and 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. The woman saw a black car with the driver’s door opened, then, a short distance away, she saw police officers chasing after someone.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he “was shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event,” in a statement posted to X. 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.
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 today. B.C. Premier David Eby shared a statement online as well, offering his condolences to the community, adding that the province would be providing any support the City of Vancouver may need at this time. Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh echoed Eby’s sentiment.
A video posted on X shows a line of police vehicles along Fraser Street near 43rd. After news broke of the incident, B.C. Emergency Health Services said “many staff reached out and offered to come in” and work. Seven additional ambulances were deployed Saturday evening, along with two supervisor vehicles to help address additional call volumes. BCEHS said the fatal incident near East 41st and Fraser would be prioritized, and that other less pressing calls may experience some waits.
This was the second annual Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, held to celebrate Datu Lapu-Lapu, a 16th-century Indigenous leader in Mactan, Philippines. According to organizers, “he is considered the first national hero of the Philippines, and his heroic legacy is deeply etched into the hearts of every Filipino. Lapu-Lapu was the first to rise against the tide of Spanish colonization, igniting a spark that would blaze brightly in the nation’s history.” On April 27, 1521, Lapu-Lapu led a force of Visayan warriors and defeated the forces of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. More to come …
