Vancouver attack suspect charged with murder as hundreds hold vigils for victims

A 30-year-old man has been charged with multiple counts of murder over allegations that he killed 11 people when he rammed a crowd of people at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, Canada.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people attended vigils across the city for the victims, and Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the site on the eve of a federal election.

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

Thirty-two people were taken to hospitals, and 17 were still there late on Sunday, including some in critical and serious condition, the British Columbia Health Ministry said.

Investigators ruled out terrorism as a motive and said more charges are possible. They said Lo has a history of mental health issues.

Those killed were between the ages of five and 65, officials said.

About two dozen other people were injured, some critically, when a black Audi SUV sped down a closed street just after 8pm on Saturday and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival.

Nathaly Nairn and her 15-year-old daughter carried flowers to one of the vigils. They had attended the festival on Saturday, and Ms Nairn recounted seeing the damaged SUV and bodies on the ground.

“Something really dark happened last night,” she said, as she and her daughter wiped away tears.

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”.

Mental health may have been a factor, Mr Sim said.

“We do have people with significant mental health challenges who shouldn’t be directing their own care on the streets, where they can do harm to themselves and others,” he said. “So we have to get to the root cause of that problem as well.”

Emily Daniels also took a bouquet. “It’s sad, really sad,” she said. “I can’t believe something like this could happen so close to home.”

Interim police chief Steve Rai called it “the darkest day in Vancouver’s history”.

There was no indication of a motive, but he said the suspect has “a significant history of interactions with police and healthcare professionals related to mental health”.

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

Kris Pangilinan, who took his pop-up clothing and lifestyle booth to the festival, saw the vehicle enter 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, barrelled through the crowd,” Mr Pangilinan said. “It looked like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins and all the pins are flying into the air.”

Police chief Mr 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 with his back against a chain-link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.

“I’m sorry,” the man said, holding his hand to his head.

Mr Rai declined to comment on the video.

Prime Minister Mr Carney cancelled his first campaign event and two major rallies on the final day of the election campaign before Monday’s vote.

“Last night families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, father, son or a daughter. Those families are living every family’s nightmare,” he said.

“And to them and to the many others who were injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver, I would like to offer my deepest condolences.”

Mr Carney joined British Columbia Premier David Eby and community leaders in Vancouver on Sunday evening.

“In this incredibly difficult moment, we will comfort the grieving, care for one another, and united in common purpose,” the PM posted in French and English on social media site X, along with a photo of him lighting a candle at a makeshift memorial near the scene of the attack.

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

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 had had a narrow escape.

“The car hit her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us, because she is scared,” said Ms 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,” she said.

Ms Nulada was at Vancouver General Hospital’s emergency department on Sunday morning, trying to find out about her brother, who was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.

Doctors identified him by presenting the family with his wedding ring in a pill bottle and said he was stable, but would be facing surgery.

James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the celebration and heard a car rev its engine and then “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought might be a gunshot.

“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help. So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured,” he said.

Vincent Reynon, 17, was leaving the festival when he saw police rushing in. People were crying and he saw scattered bodies.

“It was like something straight out of a horror movie or a nightmare,” he said.

Adonis Quita said when he saw the SUV ramming through the crowd, his first reaction was to drag his nine-year-old son out of the area. The boy kept saying “I’m scared, I’m scared,” Mr Quita recalled. Later they prayed together.

His son had just relocated to Vancouver from the Philippines with his mother to reunite with Mr Quita, who has lived here since 2024. Mr Quita said he fears the child will struggle to adjust to life in Canada after witnessing the horrific event.

Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said the city had “suffered its darkest day”.

“I know many of us are fearful and feel uneasy,” he said. “I know it’s hard to feel this way right now, but Vancouver is still a safe city.”

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, the agency that conducts the national census.

Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who went to the Philippines in the 16th century.

The organisers of the Vancouver event, which was in its second year, said he “represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonisation”.

British Columbia Premier Mr Eby said the province will not let the tragedy define the celebration, and urged people to channel their rage into helping those affected.

“I don’t think there is a British Columbian that hasn’t been touched in some way by the Filipino community,” he said.

“You can’t go to a place that delivers and not meet a member of that community in the long-term care home or hospitals, childcare or schools. This is a community that gives and gives and yesterday was a celebration of their culture.”

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr issued a statement expressing sympathy with the victims and their families.

“The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident will be thoroughly investigated, and that the victims and their families are supported and consoled,” he said.

The Philippine government is co-ordinating with local police to gather more details about victims and the investigation, while the Vancouver consulate has established a hotline for families, presidential palace press officer Claire Castro told reporters in Manila on Monday.