A beloved teacher, a 5-year-old: Who were the victims of the Vancouver Lapu Lapu Festival attack?
A man drove his car into a crowd during the Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver on April 26, killing 11 people and more than 30. The victims include a teacher, a real estate agent, the agent's wife, and their 5-year-old daughter.
While the Lapu Lapu Day Festival was going on, a driver rammed his SUV into a big crowd, leaving more than 30 injured. The festival was being organized to celebrate the Filipino culture in East Vancouver when the incident occurred.
Clothing vendor Kris Pangilinan was quoted telling AP, "All I can remember is seeing bodies flying up in the air higher than the food trucks themselves and landing on the ground and people yelling and screaming."
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Vancouver Police have identified and arrested the accused, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, aged 30. He was charged with multiple counts of second-degree murder. Meanwhile, Interim Police Chief Steve Rai has stated that this was the "darkest day" in the history of Vancouver, according to AP.
The victims of the attack ranged within the age of 5-65, according to police authorities. Among them was Kira Salim, worked as an educator and counsellor at the Fraser River Middle School and New Westminster Secondary School.
Richard Le, a real-estate agent and his family comprising of his 30-year-old wife Linh Hoang, and their 5-year-old daughter were also the victims of this tragic incident. The little child was a kindergartener who "was vibrant and joyful", according to a post on GoFundMe.
Richard's younger brother Toan was quoted telling CTV News that Richard's 16-year-old son, Andy was also supposed to join the three at the festival. However, he decided to stay back home to finish some homework. The last message that Andy received from his father was sometime after 8pm which said that the family was heading home. Little did he know that this was the last communication Andy would be having with his father.
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