"No Terror Link": Canada Cops On Vancouver Car Rampage That Killed 11

Canadian police have detained a 30-year-old man after a car rammed into a street party during a Filipino cultural celebration in Vancouver on Saturday, killing at least eleven people. However, after a preliminary investigation, cops said the incident during Lapu Lapu Day celebrations in the city's Sunset on Fraser neighbourhood was "not an act of terrorism."

Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8:00 pm local time on Saturday (03:00 am GMT on Sunday) as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day-- a festival which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century. 

"As of now, we can confirm nine people have died after a man drove through a crowd at last night's Lapu Lapu Festival," the police said on X.

According to eyewitnesses, a man drove a black SUV through a street full of people and lined with food trucks, ramming into partygoers.

A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police posted on X.

The driver was a "lone suspect" known to police, a police spokesperson told journalists at the scene. He also had a history of mental health problems, Canadian police said.

"At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism," Vancouver police said on X early Sunday morning.

The suspect was "known to police in certain circumstances", BBC reported, quoting acting Police Chief Steve Rai, although he did not elaborate further.  

"It would be inappropriate for me to get into those kinds of details at this point," Rai was quoted as saying. He added that it would be "unfair" to make comments on whether the suspect was on bail.

Rai said that before police arrived at the site, the suspect was "taken into custody by people in the crowd"

Footage posted online showed a black SUV with a damaged hood parked on a street littered with debris, meters from first aiders tending to people lying on the ground. 

An Eyewitness, Dale Selipe, told the Vancouver Sun that she saw injured children on the street after the vehicle rammed into the crowd.

"There was a lady with her eyes staring up, one of her legs was already broken. One person was holding her hand, trying to comfort her," Selipe told the newspaper.

Photos published by Canadian broadcaster CBC showed emergency crews at the scene as well as large crowds at the block party earlier Saturday.

Festival security guard Jen Idaba-Castaneto told local news site Vancouver Is Awesome that she saw "bodies everywhere."

"You don't know who to help, here or there," she said.

The Philippine consulate in Vancouver said in a Facebook statement it "expresses its deep concern and sympathies to the victims of the horrific incident."