Bible group called 911 about man later arrested in ramming of Vancouver arena, police say

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 that 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 that before the incident, the 30-year-old Vancouver man had no significant interactions with local authorities on either criminal or mental health grounds.

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.