Teacher identified among those killed in vehicle ramming at Vancouver street festival

The Hill

28-04-2025

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A teacher and school counselor was identified Monday as one of the 11 people killed when a driver plowed a sport-utility vehicle through a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver over the weekend.
Kira Salim worked at two schools in the New Westminster School District southeast of Vancouver, the district said in a statement.
Salim 'was a valued member of our community whose wisdom and care for our middle and secondary school students had a powerful impact,' the district's superintendent and board chair wrote. 'Their work, and the great spirit they brought to it, changed lives.'
Those killed ranged in age from 5 to 65, officials said. The youngest was 5-year-old girl Katie Le, who died along with her father, Richard Le, and mother, Linh Hoang, according to Richard's brother, Toan Le. They were survived by Katie's 16-year-old brother, who didn't attend the festival, he said.
The black Audi SUV sped down a closed, food-truck-lined street just after 8 p.m. Saturday 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.
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.
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.
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.'
Interim Police Chief Steve Rai called it 'the darkest day in Vancouver's history.' There was no indication of a motive, but Rai said the suspect has 'a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health.'
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.'
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.'
Suspect detained by bystanders
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. Rai declined to comment on the video.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Sunday, a day before a national election. He canceled his first campaign event and two major rallies on the final day of the campaign before the country votes on Monday.
'Last night families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, father, son or a daughter. Those families are living every family's nightmare,' Carney said. He joined British Columbia Premier David Eby and community leaders Sunday evening in Vancouver.
Carney posted a photo of himself on X lighting a candle at a makeshift memorial near the scene of the attack.
The assault was reminiscent of an attack in 2018, when a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto.
Witnesses describe leaping out of the way
Carayn Nulada said that 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.
Nulada was at Vancouver General Hospital on Sunday morning, trying to learn 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 that he was stable but would need surgery.
James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the celebration. He heard a car engine rev 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,' Cruzat 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 9-year-old son out of the area. The boy kept saying 'I'm scared, I'm scared,' Quita recalled. Later they prayed together.
His son just relocated to Vancouver from the Philippines with his mother to reunite with Quita, who has lived here since 2024. Quita said he worries the child will struggle to adjust to life in Canada after witnessing the horrific event.
Filipino community was honoring a national hero
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.
The organizers of the Vancouver event, which was in its second year, said Lapu-Lapu 'represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonization.'
Eby said the province will not let the tragedy define the celebration. He 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.'
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Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Vancouver; Teresa Cerojano in Manila, Philippines; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Utah, contributed to this report.