No one was injured but it was a startling scene for hundreds of people attending a Cirque du Soleil show at the Pacific Coliseum on Thursday night.
Vancouver police say that just after 8 p.m., a car was driven into the front doors of the arena, sending glass and debris flying.
The fast-moving car crashed into the Coliseum lobby at the start of the intermission for the show but police said that thanks to a concrete pillar in the way, the car didn’t make it beyond the doors.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a post on X that he was incredibly grateful no one was hurt and thanked the police for quickly arresting a suspect.
A 30-year-old man was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to the hospital, police said.
Vancouver police say the suspect had been the subject of a 911 call earlier that day from a Bible study group.
Sgt. Steve Addison says the man was reportedly acting erratically at the church, but he left before officers encountered him.
Addison says the 30-year-old Vancouver man had no prior interactions with local authorities on either criminal or mental health grounds.
Addison says the man is being held under the Mental Health Act and it’s believed he was suffering a “significant” crisis when the ramming happened.
Police are not identifying him because he has not been criminally charged.
One witness told Global News the incident sounded like a big explosion.
“I thought it was part of the show and then I looked down and there was a small piece of the car right beside me,” Mike Roberts said.
“(I) got out of my seat … and saw the car sitting in the window.”
-with files from The Canadian Press