Homicide expenses filed in opposition to suspect in ramming assault on Vancouver road competition that killed 11
Homicide expenses have been filed Sunday in opposition to a suspect in a automotive ramming assault that killed 11 individuals between the ages of 5 and 65 at a Filipino heritage competition in Vancouver.The British Columbia Prosecution Service charged Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, with eight counts of second-degree homicide and mentioned extra expenses have been potential.Lo, a Vancouver resident, appeared in court docket and stays in custody, prosecutors mentioned.Dozens of others have been injured, some critically, because the tragedy shook the nation earlier than a federal election. Authorities had not launched victims’ names by Sunday night.A person driving a black Audi SUV entered the road simply after 8 p.m. Saturday and struck individuals attending the Lapu Lapu Day competition. A Vancouver man was arrested and police mentioned he had psychological well being points.“It’s the darkest day in Vancouver’s historical past,” Police Interim Chief Steve Rai instructed a information convention. Investigators dominated out terrorism.“The particular person now we have in custody does have a major historical past of interactions with police and well being care professionals associated to psychological well being,” he mentioned.Video of the aftermath reveals the lifeless and injured alongside a slender road in South Vancouver lined by meals vans. The entrance of the motive force’s SUV is smashed in.Kris Pangilinan, who introduced his pop-up clothes and way of life sales space to the competition, noticed the car enter previous the barricade slowly earlier than the motive force slammed on the gasoline in an space that was full of individuals after a live performance. He mentioned listening to the sounds of our bodies hitting the car won’t ever depart his thoughts.”He sideswiped somebody on his proper aspect and I used to be like, ‘Oh, yo yo.’ After which he slammed on the gasoline,” he mentioned. “And the sound of the acceleration, it appears like an F1 automotive about to start out a race.”He slammed on the gasoline, barreled by means of the gang. And all I can bear in mind is seeing our bodies flying up within the air increased than the meals vans themselves and touchdown on the bottom and other people yelling and screaming. It appeared like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins and all of the pins are flying into the air.”Pangilinan mentioned that it will be onerous to consider “that somebody has some malice in opposition to the Filipino individuals.”Suspect was detained by bystanders earlier than the police arrivedA 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested on the scene. Rai mentioned that the person was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.Video circulating on social media reveals a younger man in a black hoodie together with his again in opposition to a chain-link fence, alongside a safety guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.“I’m sorry,” the person says, holding his hand to his head.Rai declined to touch upon the video.Prime Minister Mark Carney canceled his first marketing campaign occasion and two main rallies on the ultimate day of the election marketing campaign earlier than Monday’s vote.“Final evening households misplaced a sister, a brother, a mom, father, son or a daughter. These households reside each household’s nightmare,” Carney mentioned. “And to them and to the various others who have been injured, to the Filipino Canadian neighborhood, and to everybody in Vancouver, I wish to provide my deepest condolences.”Carney deliberate to affix British Columbia Premier David Eby and neighborhood leaders Sunday night in Vancouver.In 2018, a person used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto. Eight ladies and two males died. Alek Minassian, who was discovered responsible, instructed police that he belonged to a web-based neighborhood of sexually pissed off males, a few of whom have plotted assaults on individuals who have intercourse.Witnesses describe how they leaped out of the wayCarayn Nulada mentioned that she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the road and used her physique to protect them from the SUV. She mentioned that her daughter suffered a slender escape.“The automotive hit her arm and he or she fell down, however she acquired up, on the lookout for us, as a result of she is scared,” mentioned Nulada, who described kids screaming, and pale-faced victims mendacity on the bottom or wedged beneath automobiles.“I noticed individuals operating and my daughter was shaking.”Nulada was in Vancouver Common Hospital’s emergency room Sunday morning, looking for information about her brother, who was run down within the assault and suffered a number of damaged bones.Medical doctors recognized him by presenting the household together with his marriage ceremony ring in a capsule bottle and mentioned that he was secure, however can be going through surgical procedure.James Cruzat, a Vancouver enterprise proprietor, was on the celebration and heard a automotive rev its engine after which “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought could be a gunshot.“We noticed individuals on the street crying, others have been like operating, shouting, and even screaming, asking for assist. So we tried to go there simply to examine what was actually really occurring till we discovered some our bodies on the bottom. Others have been lifeless, others like, you recognize, injured,” Cruzat mentioned.Vincent Reynon, 17, was leaving the competition when he noticed police speeding in. Individuals have been crying and he noticed our bodies on the bottom. “It was like one thing straight out of a horror film or a nightmare,” he mentioned.Adonis Quita mentioned when he noticed the SUV ramming by means of the gang, his first response was to tug his 9-year-old son out of the realm. The boy stored saying “I’m scared, I’m scared,” Quita recalled. Later they prayed collectively. His son had simply relocated to Vancouver from the Philippines together with his mom to reunite with Quita, who has lived right here since 2024. Quita mentioned he worries the kid will wrestle to regulate to life in Canada after witnessing the horrific occasion.Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim mentioned the town had “suffered its darkest day.”“I do know many people are fearful and really feel uneasy,” mentioned the mayor. “I do know it’s onerous to really feel this manner proper now, however Vancouver continues to be a secure metropolis.”Vancouver’s giant Filipino inhabitants was honoring a nationwide heroVancouver had greater than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of the town’s complete inhabitants, in accordance with Statistics Canada, the company that conducts the nationwide census.Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood as much as Spanish explorers who got here to the Philippines within the sixteenth century. The organizers of the Vancouver occasion — which was in its second 12 months — mentioned that he “represents the soul of native resistance, a strong drive that helped form the Filipino id within the face of colonization.”Eby mentioned the province will not let the tragedy outline the celebration. He urged individuals to channel their rage into serving to these affected.“I don’t assume there’s a British Columbian that hasn’t been touched not directly by the Filipino neighborhood,” he mentioned. “You may’t go to a spot that delivers and never meet a member of that neighborhood within the long-term care house or hospitals, childcare or faculties. This can be a neighborhood that provides and offers and yesterday was a celebration of their tradition.”Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a press release expressing sympathy with the victims and their households.“The Philippine Consulate Common in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to make sure that the incident might be totally investigated, and that the victims and their households are supported and consoled,” he mentioned.The nation’s Division of Overseas Affairs mentioned that “we bear in mind the 1 million robust Filipino neighborhood in Canada and pray for his or her continued energy and resilience.”___Gillies reported from Toronto. Related Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Vancouver and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, contributed to this report.
Homicide expenses have been filed Sunday in opposition to a suspect in a automotive ramming assault that killed 11 individuals between the ages of 5 and 65 at a Filipino heritage competition in Vancouver.
The British Columbia Prosecution Service charged Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, with eight counts of second-degree homicide and mentioned extra expenses have been potential.
Lo, a Vancouver resident, appeared in court docket and stays in custody, prosecutors mentioned.
Dozens of others have been injured, some critically, because the tragedy shook the nation earlier than a federal election. Authorities had not launched victims’ names by Sunday night.
A person driving a black Audi SUV entered the road simply after 8 p.m. Saturday and struck individuals attending the Lapu Lapu Day competition. A Vancouver man was arrested and police mentioned he had psychological well being points.
“It’s the darkest day in Vancouver’s historical past,” Police Interim Chief Steve Rai instructed a information convention. Investigators dominated out terrorism.
“The particular person now we have in custody does have a major historical past of interactions with police and well being care professionals associated to psychological well being,” he mentioned.
Video of the aftermath reveals the lifeless and injured alongside a slender road in South Vancouver lined by meals vans. The entrance of the motive force’s SUV is smashed in.
Kris Pangilinan, who introduced his pop-up clothes and way of life sales space to the competition, noticed the car enter previous the barricade slowly earlier than the motive force slammed on the gasoline in an space that was full of individuals after a live performance. He mentioned listening to the sounds of our bodies hitting the car won’t ever depart his thoughts.
“He sideswiped somebody on his proper aspect and I used to be like, ‘Oh, yo yo.’ After which he slammed on the gasoline,” he mentioned. “And the sound of the acceleration, it appears like an F1 automotive about to start out a race.
“He slammed on the gasoline, barreled by means of the gang. And all I can bear in mind is seeing our bodies flying up within the air increased than the meals vans themselves and touchdown on the bottom and other people yelling and screaming. It appeared like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins and all of the pins are flying into the air.”
Pangilinan mentioned that it will be onerous to consider “that somebody has some malice in opposition to the Filipino individuals.”
Suspect was detained by bystanders earlier than the police arrived
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested on the scene. Rai mentioned that the person was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.
Video circulating on social media reveals a younger man in a black hoodie together with his again in opposition to a chain-link fence, alongside a safety guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.
“I’m sorry,” the person says, holding his hand to his head.
Rai declined to touch upon the video.
Prime Minister Mark Carney canceled his first marketing campaign occasion and two main rallies on the ultimate day of the election marketing campaign earlier than Monday’s vote.
“Final evening households misplaced a sister, a brother, a mom, father, son or a daughter. These households reside each household’s nightmare,” Carney mentioned. “And to them and to the various others who have been injured, to the Filipino Canadian neighborhood, and to everybody in Vancouver, I wish to provide my deepest condolences.”
Carney deliberate to affix British Columbia Premier David Eby and neighborhood leaders Sunday night in Vancouver.
In 2018, a person used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto. Eight ladies and two males died. Alek Minassian, who was discovered responsible, instructed police that he belonged to a web-based neighborhood of sexually pissed off males, a few of whom have plotted assaults on individuals who have intercourse.
Witnesses describe how they leaped out of the best way
Carayn Nulada mentioned that she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the road and used her physique to protect them from the SUV. She mentioned that her daughter suffered a slender escape.
“The automotive hit her arm and he or she fell down, however she acquired up, on the lookout for us, as a result of she is scared,” mentioned Nulada, who described kids screaming, and pale-faced victims mendacity on the bottom or wedged beneath automobiles.
“I noticed individuals operating and my daughter was shaking.”
Nulada was in Vancouver Common Hospital’s emergency room Sunday morning, looking for information about her brother, who was run down within the assault and suffered a number of damaged bones.
Medical doctors recognized him by presenting the household together with his marriage ceremony ring in a capsule bottle and mentioned that he was secure, however can be going through surgical procedure.
James Cruzat, a Vancouver enterprise proprietor, was on the celebration and heard a automotive rev its engine after which “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought could be a gunshot.
“We noticed individuals on the street crying, others have been like operating, shouting, and even screaming, asking for assist. So we tried to go there simply to examine what was actually really occurring till we discovered some our bodies on the bottom. Others have been lifeless, others like, you recognize, injured,” Cruzat mentioned.
Vincent Reynon, 17, was leaving the competition when he noticed police speeding in. Individuals have been crying and he noticed our bodies on the bottom. “It was like one thing straight out of a horror film or a nightmare,” he mentioned.
Adonis Quita mentioned when he noticed the SUV ramming by means of the gang, his first response was to tug his 9-year-old son out of the realm. The boy stored saying “I’m scared, I’m scared,” Quita recalled. Later they prayed collectively. His son had simply relocated to Vancouver from the Philippines together with his mom to reunite with Quita, who has lived right here since 2024. Quita mentioned he worries the kid will wrestle to regulate to life in Canada after witnessing the horrific occasion.
Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim mentioned the town had “suffered its darkest day.”
“I do know many people are fearful and really feel uneasy,” mentioned the mayor. “I do know it’s onerous to really feel this manner proper now, however Vancouver continues to be a secure metropolis.”
Vancouver’s giant Filipino inhabitants was honoring a nationwide hero
Vancouver had greater than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of the town’s complete inhabitants, in accordance with Statistics Canada, the company that conducts the nationwide census.
Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood as much as Spanish explorers who got here to the Philippines within the sixteenth century. The organizers of the Vancouver occasion — which was in its second 12 months — mentioned that he “represents the soul of native resistance, a strong drive that helped form the Filipino id within the face of colonization.”
Eby mentioned the province will not let the tragedy outline the celebration. He urged individuals to channel their rage into serving to these affected.
“I don’t assume there’s a British Columbian that hasn’t been touched not directly by the Filipino neighborhood,” he mentioned. “You may’t go to a spot that delivers and never meet a member of that neighborhood within the long-term care house or hospitals, childcare or faculties. This can be a neighborhood that provides and offers and yesterday was a celebration of their tradition.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a press release expressing sympathy with the victims and their households.
“The Philippine Consulate Common in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to make sure that the incident might be totally investigated, and that the victims and their households are supported and consoled,” he mentioned.
The nation’s Division of Overseas Affairs mentioned that “we bear in mind the 1 million robust Filipino neighborhood in Canada and pray for his or her continued energy and resilience.”
___
Gillies reported from Toronto. Related Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Vancouver and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, contributed to this report.
