UPDATE 5:00 p.m.

Charges have been laid against a man after the attack on a Vancouver Filipino festival on Saturday night that killed 11 people.

British Columbia's Court Services Online says Adam Kai-Ji Lo faces eight counts of murder.

Vancouver Police have said those who were killed range in age from 5 to 65 and the death toll could rise as dozens more were hurt when an SUV raced down a street where the Lapu Lapu Day festival was just wrapping up.

VPD said the charge assessment is ongoing and further charges are anticipated.

---

UPDATE: 1:20 p.m.

B.C. Premier David Eby said he's been left with “such a sick feeling” as he spoke Sunday about the horrific mass killing at Vancouver's Lapu Lapu Day block party that occurred Saturday night.

Eby took a sombre tone as he answered reporters' questions from Vancouver Sunday afternoon, the day after a man drove an SUV through a crowd at the festival celebrating Filipino culture, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more.

He spoke about how he had attended the celebration earlier in the day on Saturday.

“This is a community that gives and gives and yesterday was a celebration of their culture,” Eby said. “When I think about what's core to my experiences with the Filipino community, it's family, it's love, it's celebration, and that's what yesterday was.

“You can't go to a place that delivers care in our province and not meet a member of that community; the long-term care homes, our hospitals, childcare, schools.”

While answers around the motive for the horrific attack remain unclear, Eby said it's important to focus on supporting the Filipino community.

“It's hard for me and I know for many people in this moment ... not to feel rage at the man who did this; murdered innocent people, who destroyed a community celebration,” Eby said.

“But I want to turn the rage that I feel into ensuring that we stand with the Filipino community, that we deliver what they need, that we stand with those families who've lost loved ones, who've been injured.

“This event does not define us and the Filipino community or that celebration. I know it's hard to believe it in this moment but I know we will come back stronger.”

Earlier Sunday, Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai said the suspect in the mass killing has a “significant history” with police and mental health professionals due to his past mental health issues, and Rai said he was confident that Saturday's attack was not an act of terrorism.

“Obviously this person is profoundly ill,” Eby said. “There are so many questions that I have, there are so many questions that British Columbians have about how that could take place, how we could get to that moment. And as we get those answers, we'll take the action that's necessary to ensure that it can't happen again.”

Eby commended the hundreds of first responders and other bystanders who assisted during what Rai previously described as “the darkest day in Vancouver's history."

“I want to say my deep appreciation on behalf of the entire province to those people who stepped up in heroic ways last night. To the people who grabbed the perpetrator and held him for police, who restrained themselves in a moment of what must have been unbelievable restraint to not exact justice right there in that moment, but instead to turn him over to authorities,” Eby said.

“I know it wasn't just the paramedics, it was the police, it was the fire department, it was the workers in the hospitals. Everyone from the people who keep the hospital clean, to the lab techs, to the doctors and nurses who responded to this tragedy, many of whom themselves are Filipino. [They] may have known people who were out celebrating that day.

“This attack will not stop us gathering and celebrating the culture, celebrating the people of Vancouver and British Columbia; the Filipino community in particular will come out stronger. We'll work with the city, we'll work with police to ensure that events have the systems in place to keep people safe while they're celebrating and we will as a community come out of this stronger.”

---

UPDATE: 12:05 p.m.

Members of Canada's Filipino community are sharing their shock and devastation in the wake of a car-ramming attack at a Vancouver street festival that left 11 people dead and dozens more injured.

Filipino BC community organizer RJ Aquino told a news briefing Sunday he's feeling numb, sad and angry after the attack at the Lapu Lapu Day block party.

"Last night was extremely difficult, and the community, we'll feel this for a long time," Aquino said Sunday.

"There are a lot of questions floating about and we don't have all the answers, but we want to tell everybody that we're grieving," Aquino said, adding that the focus needs to be on providing support to victims.

Earlier Sunday, Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai called Saturday "the darkest day in Vancouver's history." At this time, 11 people have died from injuries suffered during the attack, while 26 people were transported to nine hospitals around Metro Vancouver with conditions ranging from critical to serious.

The organization behind the Lapu Lapu Day event where the attack took place posted to Instagram to detail the "deep heartbreak" brought on by this senseless tragedy.

A statement from Filipino BC encouraged members of the community to check in on one another and “hold each other” through this tragedy, and provided contact information for victim services and mental health support.

Filipino BC also said it discourages the viewing and sharing of the videos from the violent attack.

Provincial legislator Mable Elmore, who is of Filipino heritage, said Sunday during a news briefing with Aquino that the community is heartbroken about the attack that occurred steps away from her office.

"My message to everyone, to those in the Filipino community, in the broader community, we're in incredible pain," she said through tears.

"The Filipino community will show true resilience and we will come together out of this catastrophe with the support and love from the broad community, from all of you in the public across British Columbia and around the world who have expressed support."

- The Canadian Press

---

UPDATE: 9:45 a.m.

The number of people who were killed in Saturday night's horrific mass killing in Vancouver has risen to 11.

During a press conference Sunday morning, Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai called Saturday "the darkest day in Vancouver's history."

He said 11 people have now died after an SUV drove through a crowd of people at Vancouver's Lapu Lapu Festival, up from the previously announced nine. He added there are dozens more people who are injured, some seriously, and the number of deaths could rise in the coming days.

Without providing specific ages, Rai said the deaths included "young people."

“On behalf of everyone at the Vancouver Police Department, I want to extend my condolence to their families loved ones." Rai said.

“It is impossible to overstate how many lives have been impacted by this lone individual."

Rai said police and mental health professionals have had a "significant history" with the suspect, a 30-year-old Vancouver man, due to past mental health issues. The suspect was detained at the scene by bystanders and he was arrested by police.

Based on police's previous interactions with the suspect, Rai said he was confident that the attack was not an act of terrorism.

"For terrorism, there should be some political or religious ideology, ideation behind it. There's no indicators that this individual had that," Rai said.

While charges have not yet been laid, the suspect remains in custody.

There had been no cause for concerns about safety at the festival prior to the event, Rai said, as no threats had been made related to the festival or the greater Filipino community. This was the second year the festival had taken place, and there had been no concerns following last year's event.

The VPD and the City of Vancouver are expected to provide more updates throughout the day.

Victim Services resources are available through the VPD Victim Services Unit: 604-717-2737 and VictimLinkBC: call or text 1-800-563-0808, or email [email protected].

---

UPDATE: 8:30 a.m.

Vancouver is waking to the tragic aftermath of a deadly vehicle attack on a Filipino community street festival that killed at least nine people, including a child, with survivors describing horrifying scenes of victims strewn on the ground.

Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai said a 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested for Saturday night's attack in which an SUV plowed through a crowded South Vancouver street at high speed.

Vancouver Police said on social media platform X that they were “confident” the incident was not an act of terrorism, and the death toll stood at nine as of 3 a.m. Sunday.

Rai said multiple people were also injured but the exact number of casualties won't be released until families have been notified.

Police are expected to provide more information at a press conference at 9 a.m. Sunday morning.

– with files from The Canadian Press, Alanna Kelly

---

ORIGINAL: 5:45 a.m.

Police in Vancouver say nine people are dead after an SUV plowed through a Vancouver street festival being staged by the city's Filipino community Saturday night, leaving a trail of debris and victims in its wake.

Witness Nic Magtajas described an SUV roaring through the Lapu Lapu Day crowd at high speed, sending pedestrians' bodies flying.

“I saw a bunch of people go over, go high up from the impact of hitting the car and such,” he said.

Police said multiple people were also injured and sent to several hospitals, while Vancouver Coastal Health declared a mass-casualty event.

Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai told a midnight news conference that a 30-year-old Vancouver man who was known to police was arrested after being initially apprehended by bystanders.

Video circulating on social media shows a young man in a black hoodie with his back against a chain link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.

"I'm sorry," the man says, holding his hand to his head.

Rai declined to comment on the video but said the person in custody was a "lone male" who was "known to police in certain circumstances."

VPD said in a statement that a man "drove into a large crowd" at the street festival near East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street just at 8:14 p.m.

The street had been lined with flags and food carts for what was billed by organizers as a party to honour "the rich tapestry of cultures that make up the beautiful mosaic of British Columbia and the Philippines alike."

Lapu Lapu Day is named after an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th Century.

Video posted on social media showed victims and wreckage strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least a dozen people immobile on the ground, while a black SUV with a wrecked front section was at the scene.

Vancouver Coastal Health told The Canadian Press it had confirmed a "code orange" mass casualty event. The health authority was not able to confirm the number of injured or dead as of late Saturday night.

Carayn Nulada says she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and used her body to shield them from the black SUV that roared through the middle of the crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival just after 8 p.m.

She says the children's mother — who is her own daughter — suffered a narrow escape when the SUV clipped her arm.

Nulada says her daughter was able to get back up, and her injuries were minor, but all around her were other victims scattered on the ground.

“The car hit her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us because she is scared,” said Nulada, who described children screaming, and pale-faced victims lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles.

“I saw people running and my daughter was shaking.”

Nulada was in Vancouver General Hospital's emergency room early Sunday morning, trying to find news about her brother, who was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.

Doctors identified him by presenting the family with his wedding ring in a pill bottle and said he was stable but would be facing surgery.

Magtajas and Jihed Issa were working at a store facing the festival and said they initially had their backs to the scene when they heard a car engine revving and turned around to look.

“And then we just see him go full speed through a bunch of people,” said Magtajas, 19.

Magtajas described the sound of the impacts and said each contact with the vehicle was “so loud.”

“Just a lot of loud bangs, not to mention the engine revving as well,” he said.

Issa, 17, said he saw the black SUV going through the entire crowd on the street.

“People were screaming,” he said. “It (the vehicle) went all the way to the end of the street," he said.

“After it happened, I ran outside to the street and I was trying to figure out what happened. I made it to halfway into the street, looked around (and) there was a lot of people panicking, people on the floor — bodies, if you will.”

Issa said he saw the SUV come to a stop at the end of the street, with smoke coming from it.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had been attending the festival just before the tragedy unfolded, in the closing stages of the federal election campaign.

He said on social media platform X that he was "horrified" to learn about what happened at the festival.

"As we wait to learn more, our thoughts are with the victims and their families — and Vancouver’s Filipino community, who were coming together today to celebrate resilience," Singh said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on social media platform X that he was "devastated to hear about the horrific events" at the festival.

"I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you," Carney wrote.

"We are monitoring the situation closely, and thankful to our first responders for their swift action."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he was "shocked by the horrific news."

"My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack. Thank you to the first responders who are at the scene as we wait to hear more," he wrote on X.

Rai said he had no knowledge whether the attack was related to Monday's federal election.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement that he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by what he called a "horrific incident" at the festival, while B.C. Premier David Eby said in a post to social media platform X that he's "shocked and heartbroken" to hear about the lives lost and those injured.

Saturday's event was the second annual street celebration of the day in Vancouver, and organizers had said it was an opportunity to mark "the enduring affect Filipino values, notably the spirit of bayanihan — the collective community effort."

Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies was at the festival earlier in the day and he was visibly shaken after he returned to the scene, speaking about the stark contrast between the joy he saw earlier versus “this appalling destruction."

“I'm just sickened and appalled,” Davies said. “I wanted to come immediately and see what's happening and offer my support and prayers to the Filipino community in particular, but the wider community at large.

“This is an attack that we don't expect to see anywhere, but especially not in Canada.”

Davies said he couldn't understand what would motivate the incident, but the community will not let it “crush the spirit."

“I hope that as many lives as possible can be saved,” he said. “And we just have to condemn this, and we can't let this define us.”

The investigation is being led the Vancouver Police major crime section.

- The Canadian Press-