The Canadian police informed that the 30-year-old driver has been arrested. The exact number of victims and the perpetrator's potential motive are not yet known. Police said at a press conference that the apprehended "was already known to authorities." However, no further details were released, other than that the police do not suspect the incident to be "an act of terrorism".
Photos from the scene show emergency services, police, and people lying on the ground. According to media reports, the tragedy occurred during the local Filipino community's Lapu Lapu street festival. Kris Pangilinan, a journalist who was at the scene, said the car plowed into a group of people when the event was coming to an end and authorities had already removed the road barriers. Then - one of the vehicles nearby sped off and hit a crowd of "hundreds of people".
"It was like a war zone... There were bodies lying on the ground everywhere" - the journalist told Canada's public broadcaster CBC, adding that scores of people were injured.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he was shocked and saddened by the tragedy. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on social media that he was "devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver".
On Monday, Canadians will elect 343 members of parliament to the federal House of Commons - and an incident like that might both demotivate people from voting, and boost certain candidates through online propaganda and baseless premature conclusions.
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Source: IAR, PAP