Vancouver Lapu Lapu festival tragedy: Video of accused saying ‘sorry’ goes viral, sparks fresh outrage on social media

At least nine people were killed in the Vancouver Lapu Lapu festival tragedy when a man drove a car into a crowd at the Filipino heritage festival. A 30-year-old man was arrested at the scene in connection with the incident. 

A video of the accused being confronted by the pedestrians and locals had gone viral sparking an outrage on social media. The man was seen apologising to the enraged people. 

"Let the families of the dead deal with him! Horrific thing to do, if he can drive he knew what he was doing," commented a user. 

Another user said, "This tragedy is a stark reminder that driving is a privilege, not a right. A man with known mental health issues and recent police interactions was still behind the wheel. Yet, BC is loosening licensing rules, scrapping the second road test and extending the N stage with a clean record. This risks more unqualified drivers on the road. We need stricter licensing, not leniency, to prevent such horrors." 

When guns are banned, people find other ways and other weapons to kill people if that is their goal, said another user. 

“The man who committed the crime won't go to jail, it'll be his first offence and he'll claim mental illness. Typical Vancouver and Canada law system.. just let him back on the streets again. Why not. That's Canada,” wrote another user on X. 

Meanwhile, the Vancouver police said that the incident was "not an act of terrorism". 

The videos that viral on social media showed victims and debris scattered across a long stretch of road. A black SUV, driven by the accused, was taken into custody as well. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed shock at the incident and offered condolences for victims and support for the community celebrating the festival. Carney said he is "devastated" and "heartbroken" by the incident.