CP NewsAlert: Report says Lapu Lapu festival planning followed rules

By Canadian Press on May 16, 2025.

VANCOUVER — A preliminary report by the City of Vancouver and police into last month’s Lapu Lapu Day festival attack says authorities are considering safety enhancements for outdoor events in light of the attack.

But the report says planning for the festival appears to have followed prescribed processes, and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says all the right steps were taken.

Heavy barriers were not in place at the festival where 11 people were killed when an SUV sped through a crowded street on April 26 and police have previously said only nine out of 3,200 events in the city involved such protection.

The report says 16 new 320-kilogram mobile barriers to prevent vehicles entering public events arrived in the city yesterday, after being ordered in February.

The city says officials will be looking at how they are used before making proposals to buy more.

But they say it is unlikely they would have been used at the Lapu Lapu festival on April 26.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025

The Canadian Press

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