Suspect
in Vancouver ramming attack charged with eight counts of murder
Prosecutors
say more charges are possible against Kai-Ji Adam Lo, who was arrested at the
scene
Leyland
Cecco in Toronto and Harriet Sherwood with agencies
Mon 28 Apr
2025 03.14 BST
The suspect
in a car-ramming attack that killed 11 people and injured dozens at a Filipino
heritage festival in the Canadian city of Vancouver has been charged with eight
counts of second degree murder, prosecutors have said.
More charges
were possible against Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, the British Columbia prosecution
service said. Investigators ruled out terrorism and said Lo had a history of
mental health issues.
Lo, a
Vancouver resident, appeared in court and remains in custody, prosecutors said.
Prime
minister Mark Carney, who was heading to the scene on Sunday, said that attack,
which came just two days ahead of a national election, had left the country
“shocked, devastated and heartbroken”. Vancouver’s police chief, Steve Rai,
described the carnage as “the darkest day” in the city’s history and told
reporters it was “impossible to overstate how many lives have been impacted for
ever” by the lone driver.
Some of the
injured were in critical condition. As of Sunday evening authorities had not
released the names of those killed, but said they were aged between five and
65.
The attack
occurred shortly after 8pm on Saturday, when a man drove a black Audi SUV down
a street in the city, striking people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival. He
was arrested at the scene.
Video of the
aftermath showed the dead and injured along the narrow street in South
Vancouver lined by food trucks. The front of the driver’s SUV was heavily
damaged.
The
Lapu-Lapu festival, held on a warm spring day, drew nearly 100,000 people, many
of whom were families with young children. The celebration is named after Datu
Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines, who
orchestrated the defeat of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in battle
in 1521.
Saturday’s
festival was the second annual event for the city and organisers advertised a
street parade, artisans, cultural activities, a basketball tournament and local
food vendors.
Carney, the
Liberal party prime minister and former Bank of England governor who is
favourite to win Monday’s election, paused campaigning to address the country
on Sunday morning.
“Those
families are living every family’s nightmare,” said a visibly emotional Carney.
“I know that I join all Canadians in mourning with you. I know that Canadians
are united with you.”
Carney
referenced “Bayanihan”, the Filipino value of community serving those in need.
“This spirit upon which we must draw in this incredibly difficult time. We will
comfort the grieving. We will care for each other. We will unite in common
purpose.”
Kris
Pangilinan, who brought his pop-up clothing and lifestyle booth to the
festival, saw the vehicle enter past the barricade slowly before the vehicle
accelerated in an area that was packed with people after a concert. He said
hearing the sounds of bodies hitting the vehicle will never leave him.
“And all I
can remember is seeing bodies flying up in the air higher than the food trucks
themselves and landing on the ground and people yelling and screaming. It
looked like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins and all the pins are flying
into the air.”
Carayn
Nulada said that she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and
used her body to shield them from the SUV. She said that her daughter suffered
a narrow escape.
“The car hit
her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us, because she is
scared,” said Nulada, who described children screaming, and pale-faced victims
lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles. “I saw people running and my
daughter was shaking.”
Festival
attenders held the suspect until police could arrive.
Video
circulating on social media showed a young man in a hoodie with his back
against a chain-link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by
bystanders screaming and swearing at him.
Police set
up a 24-hour assistance centre to help anyone who had been unable to contact
relatives or friends who were at the festival.
Carney
cancelled his first campaign event and two major rallies on the final day of
the election campaign before Monday’s vote, which has been heavily influenced
by the spectre of Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada and a trade war he has
launched against his country’s northern neighbour.
Vancouver
had more than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9%
of the city’s total population, according to Statistics Canada.
Associated
Press contributed to this report
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