A man faces multiple murder charges after a car rammed into a crowd during a festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday night, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more, police said.

Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder, Vancouver police announced Sunday evening. Authorities said the charge assessment is ongoing and more charges are expected. They warned the death toll could rise as some victims remain unidentified and critically injured.

The suspect, a Vancouver resident with a known history of mental illness, was familiar to police, but officials stressed the attack was not an act of terrorism. “Mental health appears to be the underlying issue here,” Mayor Ken Sim said. Victims ranged in age from 5 to 65, according to interim police chief Steve Rai.

Graphic videos verified by NBC News showed emergency responders tending to victims as a crumpled black SUV stood in the street, surrounded by damaged food trucks. The festival site had been turned into a pedestrian mall to celebrate Filipino culture during the annual Lapu-Lapu Day block party.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney kneels at a memorial in Vancouver on Sunday.

Police said festival attendees captured the driver and handed him over to authorities. Prior risk assessments conducted by the city and police had found no threats to the event, leading to a decision against installing heavy barricades or assigning dedicated officers. Rai stated that the planning process would now be reviewed in light of the tragedy.

The attack took place on East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street just after 8:14 p.m., according to a statement on X. Rai declined to discuss a motive but confirmed Lo had a significant history of mental health interactions with police and healthcare workers, though no recent contacts had been made prior to the incident.

Eyewitness Yoseb Vardeh, a food truck co-owner, told the Vancouver Sun he heard an engine revving before the truck barreled into the pedestrian-only area. “I got outside my food truck, I looked down the road, and there’s just bodies everywhere,” he said, adding that police quickly secured the scene.

Victims were transported to nine hospitals. Vancouver General Hospital, the area’s top trauma center, confirmed it received multiple patients. Over 100 Vancouver police officers are working the case, Rai said.

Mayor Sim expressed his condolences on social media, saying, “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu-Lapu Day event.” British Columbia Premier David Eby pledged support to Vancouver officials, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences on X, describing the tragedy as “every family’s nightmare.”

Carney highlighted the resilience of the Filipino Canadian community, invoking a Tagalog word symbolizing unity and cooperation. “We will comfort the grieving. We will care for each other. We will unite in common purpose,” he said during a Sunday broadcast.

New Democrat Party leader Jagmeet Singh also voiced his sorrow, saying, “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families — and Vancouver’s Filipino community, who were coming together today to celebrate resilience.”

The province of British Columbia had officially recognized April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, honoring the Indigenous leader who resisted Spanish colonialism during the Battle of Mactan in 1521. Today, Lapu-Lapu remains a symbol of resistance for Filipinos worldwide.

Canada is home to nearly one million Filipino immigrants and people of Filipino descent, according to the 2021 census. On Sunday night, members of the community and supporters held a vigil for the victims, marked by applause and the singing of “Amazing Grace,” as shared in social media footage.