Nine people were killed after a car plowed into a crowd at a Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver, western Canada, police said, adding that the driver of the SUV - a man in his 30s - was arrested.

According to a police report, cited by the Canadian Press, the driver "ran into the crowd" during the street festival at the intersection of East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street, shortly after 8 p.m. local time on Friday. It does not appear to be a terrorist attack.

At the time, the Filipino community’s “Lapu Lapu Day” festival was taking place in the South Vancouver neighborhood . Videos posted on social media showed victims and debris scattered across a wide stretch of road lined with trucks selling street food, with at least seven people immobile on the ground. Photos taken at the scene showed a black SUV with its front end crumpled.

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 . “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with the Filipino community in Vancouver at this incredibly difficult time,” he said.

British Columbia Premier David Eby also wrote on social media that he was “shocked and heartbroken” to learn of the lives lost and injuries at the festival. Lapu Lapu Day is named after an indigenous resistance fighter from the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th century .

(Online Union)

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