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4mo ago

Vancouver Festival Tragedy: Victims Honored as Families Share Stories

Eleven lives lost in the April 26 vehicle attack at the Lapu-Lapu Day event are remembered, while families organize memorials and raise funds for support and repatriation.

People gather for a candlelight march during a vigil on the street where a vehicle-ramming attack occurred at the Filipino community's Lapu Lapu Day festival last week, on a provincial day of mourning for the victims, in Vancouver, on Friday, May 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
People gather at a memorial in Vancouver on April 28, 2025, in honour of those who were killed and injured when an SUV drove through a crowd at the Lapu-Lapu Day Filipino festival.

Overview

  • The April 26 vehicle attack at Vancouver's Lapu-Lapu Day festival claimed 11 lives, ranging in age from 5 to 65, and injured nearly 30 others.
  • Suspect Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, faces multiple second-degree murder charges and is undergoing psychiatric evaluation ahead of trial.
  • Victims include Maria Victoria Bjarnason, a visiting mother from the Philippines, and Kira Salim, a beloved teacher-counsellor from New Westminster.
  • Entire families, such as the Samper family from Colombia and the Le family, were among those killed, leaving surviving relatives devastated.
  • Community-led fundraisers have raised significant support for funeral costs, survivor aid, and repatriation of remains, with over $540,000 donated to victims' families.