



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 latest 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.
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 Baily said had “so much personality,” was among the celebrants killed in the attack, according to the New Westminster School District, where Salim worked.
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, and 17 were still hospitalized late Sunday, including some in critical and serious condition, the British Columbia Health Ministry said. Those killed ranged in age from 5 to 65, officials said.
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.
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.
The Associated Press could not immediately reach an attorney representing him. Records showed that Vancouver Provincial Court issued a publication ban barring the release of details about the legal case against Ko. 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.
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. “It looked like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins and all the pins are flying into the air.”