9 people killed, 20 injured after vehicle plows into Filipino street festival crowd in Vancouver
Vancouver, Apr 27 (AP): A man drove a vehicle into a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in the Canadian city of Vancouver, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 20 others, authorities said Sunday.
The vehicle entered the street at 8.14 pm on Saturday and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, the Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post.
"Nine people were killed and more than 20 were injured in what the Vancouver police are describing as a car ramming attack," said Prime Minister Mark Carney, who cancelled his first campaign event on the final day of the election campaign ahead of Monday's vote.
"An investigation is ongoing to determine how and why this horrific attack occurred. Authorities have confirmed one person is custody and it is believed they acted alone."
Video of the aftermath shows the dead and injured along a narrow street in South Vancouver lined by food trucks. The front of the driver's SUV is smashed in.
Suspect was detained by bystanders before the police arrived
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene and the department's Major Crime Section is overseeing the investigation, police said.
"At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism," the police department posted early Sunday.
Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai told a news conference that the man was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.
Video circulating on social media shows a young man in a black hoodie with his back against a chain-link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.
"I'm sorry," the man says, holding his hand to his head.
Rai declined to comment on the video, but said the person in custody was a "lone male" who was “known to police in certain circumstances.”
Carney said authorities do not believe there is any active threat to Canadians.
“Last night families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, father, son or a daughter. Those families are living every family's nightmare,” Carney said, fighting back tears. “And to them and to the many others who were injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver, I would like to offer my deepest condolences.”
In 2018, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto. Eight women and two men died. Alek Minassian, who was found guilty, told police that he belonged to an online community of sexually frustrated men, some of whom have plotted attacks on people who have sex.
Witnesses describe how they leaped out of the way
Carayn Nulada said that she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and used her body to shield them from the SUV. She said that her daughter suffered a narrow escape.
"The car hit her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us, because she is scared," said Nulada, who described children screaming, and pale-faced victims lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles.
“I saw people running and my daughter was shaking.”
Nulada was in Vancouver General Hospital's emergency room early Sunday morning, trying to find news about her brother, who was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.
Doctors identified him by presenting the family with his wedding ring in a pill bottle and said that he was stable, but would be facing surgery.
James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the event and heard a car rev its engine and then “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought might be a gunshot.
“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help. So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured,” Cruzat said.
Nic Magtajas described an SUV roaring through the crowd at high speed.
“I saw a bunch of people go over, go high up from the impact of hitting the car,” said Magtajas, 19.
Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said in a social media post that the city would provide more information when possible.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today's Lapu Lapu Day event,” Sim said. “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver's Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time."
Vancouver's large Filipino population was honouring a national hero
Vancouver had more than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9 per cent of the city's total population, according to Statistics Canada, the agency that conducts the national census.
Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century. The organisers of the Vancouver event — which was in its second year — said that he “represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonization.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a statement expressing sympathy with the victims and their families.
“The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident will be thoroughly investigated, and that the victims and their families are supported and consoled,” he said.
The country's Department of Foreign Affairs said that “we remember the 1 million strong Filipino community in Canada and pray for their continued strength and resilience.”
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
