I saw one dead, one man on the ground, and I went… towards the end where the car went, then there are more casualties
A 30-year-old man has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder after a car was driven into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, Canada.
The attack at a festival which celebrated Filipino culture left 11 dead and dozens more injured.
Work to identify some victims was continuing on Sunday evening, and police said the suspect – Kai-Ji Adam Lo, a resident of the city – was likely to be charged with further murders.
Investigators said the suspect was known to police prior to the attack but ruled out an extremist motive, instead pointing to his history of mental health problems.
Organisers of the annual Lapu Lapu festival said the city’s tight-knit Filipino community was “grieving” and that the attack’s impact will be felt for years to come.
Earlier, police said the ages of the victims ranged from five to 65. Their identities have not been disclosed.
The attack took place at around 20:14 local time on Saturday (03:14 GMT) at East 43rd Avenue and Fraser in the south of Vancouver.
Several eyewitnesses to Saturday’s attack have described the moment a car ploughed into crowds and the chaos that followed.
“There’s a car that went just through the whole street and just hitting everyone,” Abigail Andiso, a local resident, told the Associated Press.
“I saw one dead, one man on the ground, and I went… towards the end where the car went, then there are more casualties, and you can see straight away there are about… maybe 20 people down, and everyone is panicking, everyone is screaming.”
At the scene on Sunday, people began laying flowers and paying their respects.
One woman doubled over sobbing before walking off. Another woman, named Donna, said she lived in the neighbourhood for more than 50 years.
She was at the festival and said it was packed with young people and families.
“People were here to celebrate and have fun,” she told the BBC. “This is tragic.”
Speaking at a news conference the following day, RJ Aquino, the head of the Filipino BC organisation, said that “last night was extremely difficult and the community will feel this for a long time.”
“We know that there’s a lot of questions floating about and we don’t have all the answers, but we want to tell everybody that we’re grieving,” he added.
Mr Aquino said that the attack caused considerable confusion and chaos in the city’s tight-knit Filipino community, with many residents calling one another to check on their loved ones.
“I don’t think my phone has buzzed that much in my entire life,” he said. “There was a lot of panic and, you know, relief, when somebody answers.”
bbc.com