5-year-old girl and parents among those dead in vehicle ramming in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- As members of the Le family headed out the door to enjoy music, food and camaraderie at the annual Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver over the weekend, their 16-year-old son decided to instead stay home to finish homework.

Then news began arriving of a car plowing through the crowds.

His father, Richard Le, his stepmother Linh Hoang and his 5-year-old sister Katie Le, were among 11 people killed, said Richard Le’s brother, Toan Le, in the most recent fatal car ramming incident around the globe.

The teenage boy is in a state of shock, Le said, grappling with the sudden loss. Katie Le was nearing graduation from kindergarten and was described as a vibrant and joyful child in a GoFundMe page posted by Toan Le.

The black Audi SUV sped down a closed, food-truck-lined street Saturday evening and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, which celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century.

Thirty-two people were hurt. Seven were in critical condition and three were in serious condition at hospitals on Monday, Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Steve Addison said.

Those killed include nine females and two males ranging in age from 5 to 65, according to Addison. All of them lived in the Vancouver metropolitan area, he said.

A 30-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of murder in the deaths, and mourners including the Canadian prime minister remembered the dead at vigils across the city.

Kai-Ji Adam Lo was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder in a video appearance before a judge Sunday, said Damienne Darby, spokeswoman for British Columbia prosecutors. Lo has not yet entered a plea.

A woman who answered the phone Monday at the home of Lo’s mother, Lisa Lo, said that the mother was too distraught to speak to a reporter.

Investigators ruled out terrorism as a motive and said more charges were possible. They said Lo had a history of mental health issues. Interim Police Chief Steve Rai said there was no indication of a motive but that the suspect has “a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health.”

Lo had contact with police the day before the vehicle attack in a neighboring jurisdiction, Addison said on Monday.

“That contact was not criminal in nature and it did not rise to the level where a mental health intervention was required,” Addison said.

The Associated Press could not immediately reach an attorney representing Lo. Online records showed that Vancouver Provincial Court issued a publication ban barring the release of details about the legal case against Lo. Such bans are common in Canada to protect the rights of the accused to a fair trial as well as the privacy of crime victims.

Lo’s brother, 31-year-old Alexander Lo, was the victim of a homicide at his home last year. Kai-ji Lo started an online fundraising effort, now since deleted, seeking donations to bury his brother.

He said he was “burdened with remorse for not spending more time with him,” according to an archived version of the webpage. Their mother took out significant loans to build Alexander a home, leaving her financially strained.

“The unimaginable grief brought upon my mother is something that is worse than my own sadness. For she brought him into this world, only for him to leave abruptly, it is a sadness I cannot begin to express,” he wrote.

While attending a vigil, Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said the Filipino community and the city were “heartbroken, were sad, were scared and there’s a bit of anger there, too.”

Hours before the attack, Makayla Bailey saw her friend Kira Salim, a teacher and school counselor, for the first time in a while and Salim had apologized for not being out and about more.

“I told them, ‘It’s ok it’s been crappy out, the weather sucks, summer’s coming so I’m sure we’ll see each other a lot more,’” Bailey said, recalling in an interview Salim's drag king performances that audiences loved.

“I didn’t think it would be the last conversation we would ever have," said Bailey.

Salim, who Bailey said had “so much personality,” was among the celebrants killed in the attack, according to the New Westminster School District, where Salim worked.

The attack happened minutes after a performance by Apl.de.ap, a Filipino-American artist from the band the Black Eyed Peas, the singer said in an Instagram post Sunday, urging his followers to keep the victims in their prayers.

Video of the aftermath showed the dead and injured along a narrow street in South Vancouver. The front of the SUV was smashed in.

Kris Pangilinan, who brought his pop-up clothing and lifestyle booth to the festival, saw the vehicle roll slowly past a barricade before the driver accelerated in an area packed with people after a concert. He said hearing the sounds of people screaming and bodies hitting the vehicle will never leave his mind.

“He slammed on the gas, barreled through the crowd,” Pangilinan said.

Investigators were collecting evidence at the scene Monday and had executed a search warrant at a Vancouver property, police spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said. Investigators were also going through bystander video from the scene.

Officials will review the situation, and it may change how they approach such events, Addison said.

“This was intended to be a safe, fun, family friendly community block party for people to celebrate their community and culture,” Addison said. "The actions of one person stole that away from them.”

Carayn Nulada said she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and used her body to shield them from the SUV. She said her daughter made 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 victims lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles.

Rai said the suspect was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.

Video circulating on social media showed a young man in a black hoodie, alongside a security guard and surrounded by screaming by bystanders, apologizing.

Rai declined to comment on the video.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Sunday, a day before a national election.

The assault was reminiscent of an attack in 2018, when a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto.

___

Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Vancouver; Teresa Cerojano in Manila, Philippines; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Utah, contributed to this report.