VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Vancouver police ruled out terrorism in a car ramming attack that killed 11 people at a Filipino heritage festival in the Canadian city, saying the suspect has a history of mental health issues.
Dozens of others were injured, some seriously, in what authorities described as a car ramming attack that shook the country ahead of federal elections.
A man driving a black Audi SUV entered the street just after 8 p.m. Saturday and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival. A Vancouver man was arrested.
“It is the darkest day in Vancouver’s history,” Vancouver Police Interim Chief Steve Rai told a news conference.
“The person we have in custody does have a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health,” he said.
Video of the aftermath shows the dead and injured along a narrow street in South Vancouver lined by food trucks. The front of the driver’s SUV is smashed in.
Kris Pangilinan, who brought his pop-up clothing and lifestyle booth to the festival, saw the vehicle enter past the barricade slowly before the driver slammed on the gas in an area that was packed with people after a concert. He said hearing the sounds of bodies hitting the vehicle will never leave his mind.
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene and the department’s Major Crime Section is overseeing the investigation, police said.
“At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism,” the police department posted early Sunday.
Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai told a news conference that the man was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.
Prime Minister Mark Carney canceled his first campaign event on the final day of the election campaign ahead of Monday’s vote.
In 2018, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto. Eight women and two men died. Alek Minassian, who was found guilty, told police 
that he belonged to an online community of sexually frustrated men, some of whom have plotted attacks on people who have sex.
Carayn Nulada said that she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and used her body to shield them from the SUV. She said that her daughter suffered a narrow escape.
Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said in a social media post that the city would provide more information when possible.
Vancouver had more than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of the city’s total population, according to Statistics Canada, the agency that conducts the national census.
Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century. The organizers of the Vancouver event — which was in its second year — said that he “represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonization.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a statement expressing sympathy with the victims and their families.
“The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident will be thoroughly investigated, and that the victims and their families are supported and consoled,” he said.
The country’s Department of Foreign Affairs said that “we remember the 1 million strong Filipino community in Canada and pray for their continued strength and resilience.”
“It’s hard to believe that someone has some malice against the Filipino people,” Pangilinan said, the witness.