The author suspected of the tellar car attack was charged-Liberation

« The British Columbia Prosecutor’s Office has charged » The 30 -year -old suspect, « Eight murder leaders », Police said in a statement published on Sunday, April 27, adding that other charges were expected. The man, presented as a resident of Vancouver and who appeared before a court before being gave in police custody, acted deliberately and has history of mental disorders, according to the police.

No reason was confirmed for this attack on Saturday evening in the city of Vancouver, In the west of the country, while Canadians are called to the polls this Monday for legislative elections. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneywent to Vancouver on Sunday, where he attended, from flowers in hand, to a religious vigil organized for the victims, according to the media CPAC. « Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughterhe said. These families live the nightmare of all families. ”

The suspect has « A heavy past of interactions, with the police and caregivers, linked to mental health, said Steve Rai, a senior Vancouver police official at a press conference on Sunday. Even if I cannot express myself at this stage on a possible mobile, I can now say, confident, that the elements of this file do not lead us to think that it is a terrorist act « he added. « There are now eleven confirmed deaths, and we believe that dozens of others are injured, some seriouslycontinued Steve Rai, warning that the number of deaths could increase. This is the darkest day in the story of Vancouver. ”

Saturday, shortly after 8 p.m. local time, according to the police, « A man behind the wheel of a black Audi SUV » Dried through the crowd in the Sunset district of the city of the Pacific Coast where members of the Philippine community had gathered to celebrate the Lapu-Lapu day, which commemorates a 16th century victory against European explorers. A witness told the Vancouver Sun that she had heard big noises, then howls: « There were bodies. They were crushed. Some had already died on the spot. ” Shared images on social networks show the black SUV, the front of which is very damaged, arrested in a street strewn with debris.

In the process, several people came Sunday to deposit flowers to pay tribute to the victims on the site of the attack. Many Asian communities, notably Chinese, Indian and Philippine, live in western Canada, for many around Vancouver, the third agglomeration of the country.

Sunday, King Charles III, head of state of Canada, said « Deeply saddened » by this « Terrible tragedy ». Emmanuel Macron said his « Solidarity to Canadians and the Philippine community ». For his part, the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcossaid in a press release that he was « Completely upset to learn this terrible incident ».

The drama increases the tension a few hours before the national ballot on Monday. The electoral campaign was dominated by the issue of economic war with the United States of Donald Trump and his threats of annexation. The new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who presents himself as a bulwark against the American president, is given favorite by the polls. He changed the program for his last day of the campaign due to the attack in Vancouver.