The Vancouver Police Sunday said the crazed driver who mowed down at least 11 people with his black SUV and injured several others at a Lapu Lapu Day party had an extensive mental health history. Interim police chief Steve Rai said the 30-year-old man was known to police under certain circumstances hinting at his past run-ins with the law enforcement, and also an extensive history of interactions with mental health professionals, he said, adding that this was the darkest day in the city’s history.
“There are many things that we still don’t know. But we are looking for the answers,” Rai said.
The identity of the suspect has not yet been revealed, though a purported video of the suspect surfaced on social media, which was believed to have been taken after the crowd detained the man until the cops arrived. From the video, social media users surmised that the suspect might be of Asian origin, but a resident of Vancouver. The motive is still not known, though the cops confirmed that he acted alone and it was not a terrorist act.
“I am unable to identify the person as charges have not yet been laid,” the police said.
Lapu Lapu Day is named after an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th century. 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 impact on Filipino values, notably the spirit of bayanihan — the collective community effort.”
The festival was just winding down when the SUV drove through the crowd but there were a lot of people. The driver was travelling eastbound on 43rd Street before the attack and the vehicle was owned by somebody associated to that family.
No prior indication of threat level
The activities associated with the festival were being held on the grounds of a high school, not accessible by road. The only road that “required partial closure” was behind the school for food trucks, police said, and there were “no barriers” restricting access for those trucks. There was no indicator that needed to respond to a higher threat level, police said.
