Vancouver festival ramming is latest attack to use vehicles as deadly weapons
Around the world, people fuelled by motives ranging from terrorism and far-right extremism to misogyny and mental illness have deployed the tactic increasingly in recent decades.
A San José State University study from 2018 notes that vehicles are 'easily obtainable, and a ramming attack requires little preparation' or skill.
The gruesome practice has also proven devastating, yielding a high death toll in horrific fashion when crowds are gathered.
Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai said a 30-year-old local man was arrested for Saturday night's attack after an SUV plowed through a crowded South Vancouver street at high speed in a nightmarish scene that left a trail of wreckage and victims strewn on the ground.
Police said on social media platform X they were 'confident' the incident was not an act of terrorism.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2025.
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