Vancouver festival tragedy: 11 dead, dozens more hurt after suspect drives through block party crowd

Premier and MP code vigil astatine southbound Vancouver church

B.C. Premier David Eby addressed the supplication vigil astatine St. Mary the Virgin South Hill Church successful Vancouver, telling the congregation that it was hard to consciousness it now, but the assemblage would travel retired of the calamity stronger.

“We're present today. We each basal unneurotic with the Filipino assemblage today. And I cognize that's really the lawsuit astir the world,” the premier said.

Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies was intelligibly affectional arsenic helium addressed the assemblage astatine the church.

“The Filipino assemblage is 1 of the astir resilient, dynamic, joyful, generous, loving communities successful our nation,” helium said. “And contiguous we basal with you.”

“We volition not fto what happened yesterday specify us, but contiguous we basal and we grieve together.”

Eyewitness saw bodies, paramedics performing CPR

Sheldon Nipshank, who lives successful the area, was walking by the festival and decided to cheque it retired erstwhile helium started to spot constabulary and paramedics moving down the street.

Nipshank walked to the schoolhouse tract wherever Filipino American rapper Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas had been performing.

"But the euphony wasn't playing nary more, obviously," Nipshank said successful an interrogation connected CBC News Network.

As Nipshank was walking on a obstruction adjacent a sidewalk, that's erstwhile helium says helium started to spot "bodies and injured people."

He heard a pistillate yelling that she couldn't consciousness her legs and saw constabulary transportation a antheral helium believes was killed successful the attack. Paramedics were performing CPR connected different idiosyncratic connected the ground, helium said.

"They were going beauteous hard trying to prevention his life," Nipshank said. "It was beauteous traumatic."

Nipshank said helium felt frightened astatine the clip and hadn't afloat processed the events.

"I unrecorded successful a location with a radical of guys," helium said. "I person a batch of radical to speech to."

'Traumatic scar connected our metropolis psyche'

City Coun. Pete Fry was besides astatine the festival yesterday. He recounted however a workfellow of his had managed to flight the calamity with her two-year-old.

When Fry heard astir what had happened, helium returned to the tract of the celebrations, wherever helium spoke to reporters portion visibly shaken and emotional.

He said "a large fig of radical successful shock" were determination erstwhile helium arrived and were being comforted by archetypal responders and festival volunteers.

"The disorder and the daze of knowing that this astir apt was going to unfold arsenic a heavy calamity was painted connected everybody's faces," Fry told CBC News Network big Natasha Fatah. "It's a traumatic scar connected our metropolis psyche."

"This is thing similar Vancouver has ever experienced," the metropolis councillor said, adding the metropolis would present "join the ranks of galore cities crossed the globe who experienced these acts of conscionable horrendous violence."

Prayer vigil being held astatine religion successful southbound Vancouver

A supplication vigil is being held astatine St. Mary the Virgin South Hill Church successful Vancouver, conscionable blocks distant from the tract of the attack. Songs are ringing retired successful honour of those who mislaid their lives.

The pews are packed with radical astatine the religion astatine Fraser Street and 49th Avenue, and the congregation is mostly composed of radical of Filipino descent.

Also successful attendance are a fig of the province’s MLAs, galore of whom are singing too.

Vancouver volition ever person a location for Filipino community, Aquino says

Speaking to radical who were perchance visiting Vancouver for the archetypal clip oregon looking for a portion of location aft moving to the city, Aquino said:

“Just cognize that there's a tight-knit assemblage present and we are making an effort to guarantee that we’re seen, heard and celebrated — that our civilization is shared with those who privation to observe with us. What the festival has shown … Filipinos emotion festivals, emotion to eat, emotion to stock that portion of ourselves. And we’ll proceed to bash that. People volition find a location present and we’ll proceed to marque it truthful radical consciousness that they person a location here.”

‘I don’t deliberation my telephone has buzzed that overmuch successful my full life’

Aquino is speaking present to however close-knit the Filipino assemblage is successful Vancouver. He said his telephone and countless others lit up precocious past nighttime arsenic radical tried to corroborate whether their loved ones were OK.

“I don’t deliberation my telephone has buzzed that overmuch successful my full life,” helium said. "There was a batch of panic and, you know, relief, erstwhile idiosyncratic answers."

Organizers not focused connected speculation astir suspect

Aquino said helium doesn’t “think it’s the close time” to speculate connected the suspect’s intelligence wellness oregon different unconfirmed details.

“We are focused connected the victims and we are focused connected those that person been affected,” helium said. “I’m definite officials doing the probe volition supply much accusation arsenic that comes to airy and we’ll cognize it astatine the aforesaid clip you guys do.”

Festival had conscionable finished erstwhile onslaught happened, Elmore says

Elmore is reiterating that the festival was winding down erstwhile the SUV drove done the crowd. The nutrient trucks had been fashionable and it was astir dinnertime, truthful determination were a batch of radical around, she said.

Asked astir the victims, Elmore said she won’t beryllium speaking to immoderate details.

“The casualties are unimaginable and the injuries successful our community…” Elmore said earlier, earlier trailing off.

Risk appraisal done earlier festival

‘Just an unspeakable tragedy’

“I’m heartbroken and our thoughts and our emotion are with the casualties, their families, those injured, our volunteers. Our precedence present successful the Filipino assemblage is providing enactment to those people,” said B.C. MLA Mable Elmore, the archetypal and lone MLA successful B.C. who’s of Filipino heritage.

She represents the Vancouver-Kensington riding and said Lapu Lapu was a solemnisation conscionable steps extracurricular of her office.

“Just an unspeakable tragedy,” Elmore said, thanking archetypal responders who helped victims. “We are collectively shattered but we are coming unneurotic arsenic a community.”