Vancouver police say a man detained in a vehicle ramming at the city’s Pacific Coliseum on Thursday night had “religious delusions” and had been the subject of a 911 call earlier that day from a Bible study group.
Sgt. Steve Addison said Friday the man was reportedly acting erratically at the church group, but he left before officers encountered him.
The man was later detained after a BMW sedan crashed into the Pacific Coliseum in East Vancouver during a Cirque du Soleil show at around 8 p.m. PT Thursday.
Addison said the suspect was in clear mental health distress.
“He was speaking and acting erratically, specifically having religious delusions, talking about Satan, talking about God, saying other things that made it very apparent that he was experiencing a mental health crisis,” Addison said at a press conference Friday.
“And he was clearly acting in a way that placed himself and members of the public in immediate danger.”
Addison said the 30-year-old Vancouver man had no significant interactions with local authorities on either criminal or mental health grounds before the incident.
Vancouver man arrested after vehicle driven into Pacific Coliseum
No one was injured in the crash at the arena, with Addison calling it a “miracle” given the number of people inside and outside at the time.
“The vehicle struck a vertical concrete column on the building, and that column is what prevented that vehicle from penetrating into the arena,” Addison said.
“Although we don’t know the specific speed at this point, it was travelling fast enough that had it not collided with that barrier, it would have gone into the arena, and it could have caused people serious harm.”
Addison said the man was being held under the Mental Health Act, and police are not identifying him because he has not been criminally charged.
The incident came 40 days after an SUV plowed through a crowd at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival, also in East Vancouver, killing 11 while injuring scores of others.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a social media post that he was “incredibly grateful no one was hurt.”
“The safety of everyone attending events in our city is our top priority, and we’ll continue working to keep Vancouver safe,” Sim said.
Addison said there was no evidence the latest ramming was linked to terrorism or copied the Lapu-Lapu festival attack, but police understood the public may be fearful given similarities between the two incidents.
He said that was why police were ensuring safety at events this weekend, including the B.C. Lions’ season opener on Saturday and the Italian Day festival on Commercial Drive, by deploying more than 300 additional officers as well as vehicle barriers.
The barriers were seen being installed on Commercial Drive on Friday ahead of the Italian cultural festival.
“We fully understand that as soon as this vehicle struck the Coliseum last night, the first thing that was going to be in people’s minds was a flashback to what happened 40 days earlier at the Filipino Lapu-Lapu festival,” Addison said.
“That’s the natural reaction. If I have a message for people, it’s please know that we’re doing everything that we can in our power, working with our partners, to mitigate risks, to make this summer as safe as possible.”
He said people in Vancouver should be vigilant at events, and anything suspicious should be reported immediately.
“We’re going to have lots of police officers out,” Addison said. “They’re going to be highly visible. We’re going to have road closures in place to prevent vehicles from being able to come into the enclosed street, because Commercial Drive will be closed down.
“If you see something that seems out of place, if you see something that makes you feel unsafe, if you see something suspicious, just call us. We will respond. We’d rather you do that.”
