Vancouver man arrested after driving into Pacific Coliseum entrance during Cirque du Soleil show, police say
Police say it was a 'miracle' no one was killed; man arrested under Mental Health Act
A 30-year-old man has been arrested after a vehicle was driven into Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum arena on Thursday night, police say.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said on X, formerly Twitter, that the vehicle was driven into the front entrance of the venue space, located at East Vancouver's Hastings Park, shortly after 8 p.m., during a Cirque du Soleil performance.
Arena security detained the man and police officers took him into custody.
Police said that while it is still early in the investigation, the incident "does not appear to be an act of terrorism."
The suspect, a Vancouver man, was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital for medical and psychiatric evaluation, according to police.
At a Thursday night news conference outside the arena, VPD Sgt. Steve Addison said police believed the driver was "experiencing some sort of mental health psychosis."
The driver doesn't have a criminal history, nor has he had significant prior interactions with police related to mental health, according to Addison.
Police said there were no reported injuries.
"There were lots of people here, thousands of people inside and outside of the venue," Addison said Thursday night. "We're relieved. It's a miracle that nobody was killed."
Police believe the vehicle struck a concrete pillar that stopped it from penetrating further into the building.
"Quite likely that's what prevented people from being injured," Addison said.
He noted the crash into the arena happened 40 days after the Lapu-Lapu Day festival tragedy, in which 11 people died after a car rammed through the crowd.
"These events in close succession to each other just feed the anxiety that we're all already feeling in the community," Addison said.
He added there was no evidence at the early stage of the investigation to suggest the Pacific Coliseum incident was a copycat event.
Addison commended the venue's security staff on their response to the incident.
"I have to say that staff security did a tremendous job ... in the initial aftermath in detaining that person," he said.