Man who kept angry crowd back from suspect at Lapu Lapu festival says it was right to do

Global News

03-05-2025

WARNING: Some of the details in this story are disturbing. Discretion is advised.
For the first time since the April 26 tragedy at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver, a man who played a key role in apprehending the suspect visited the growing memorial.
'Surreal,' festival-goer Dudley Green said.
'And there's a bit of sadness, emptiness, because it's all cleaned up now but the wreckage of everything is still kind of vivid in the mind.'
Green had decided last minute to attend the festival, which was being held to celebrate Filipino culture and heritage.
At the end of the night, when the crowd started to dissipate, Green said he was walking between two food trucks when he saw a 'black blur' go speeding by.
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'I see three bodies fly in the air above the food truck and land,' he said. 'And then there was a guy screaming, 'Call 911, call 911'. And I continued to walk this way because I was hoping to see if the vehicle would stop.
'So when I got to the top here where the parking sign was, the vehicle was there in front of two food trucks. The door was open, the airbags had been deployed, and then I looked across the street and there was a huge mob here… of people that were coming towards this part of the fence.'
1:07
Provincial day of mourning for Lapu Lapu festival victims
Green said MLA Mable Elmore was standing to his right, a security guard was on his left and Paul Palines was also there.
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He said they tried to keep the crowd back, telling them to wait for the police.
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'It was a very volatile situation, a lot of people were very angry and of course, they wanted to make this have instant justice,' Green added.
'The whole premise I thought was like, OK, let the police come and deal with it because at least he didn't escape. So we had him here, so we just basically held him and detained him. But it took a lot to de-escalate the crowd because, like I said, emotions were running high, people were very volatile.'
Green said there were at least three men who wanted to harm the suspect.
'One of them, he asked me very politely and very calmly, you know, he said to me, 'Can you just move out the way, please?',' Green said.
'And I said, I looked in his eyes and I saw the intent. And I say to him, brother, if you, if I move and you do what you're planning to do, who's going to look after your family?
'And he just busted into tears and just said, 'This guy has to die, you know?' And I said, I don't disagree that might be the case, but let's just wait for the police. And then he just turned around and walked away.'
Green said that moment is seared into his brain because he's a father, too, and he can only imagine all the anger and frustration people were feeling.
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He said the man told him the car hit his child but he doesn't know the extent of the injuries.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, was arrested at the scene on Saturday and has since been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim confirmed that the suspect was under the care of a mental health care team but he was on extended leave at the time.
Vancouver police said more charges against Lo are expected but there is no timeline for the investigation.
Lo remains in custody and appeared briefly in court on Friday afternoon.
Eleven people were killed in the tragedy, including seven women, two men, one non-binary person and one child. The victims range in age from five to 65 years old.
More than 10 people remain in hospital.
4:50
Counsellor on strategies to support those impacted by the Lapu Lapu festival attack
Green said he knew he did the right thing by keeping the crowd back from Lo until the police arrived.
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'If the crowd had taken that gentleman and they'd beaten him to death, all of them that were involved in that, they would have been recorded, just like I was recorded, not knowing people were recording it,' he said.
'And then the police would have had to lay charges against all of it. They've lost family members, they've had people die, and yes, they may have had instant gratification with killing this person, but it wouldn't have changed the dynamic that already happened.'
Green said Lo seemed like he was in a daze and he said, 'I am sorry,' multiple times, standing against the fence until the police came.
'I think I'm a pretty big guy, so (my) presence made a difference, and I think being able to talk to people calmly and rationally basically helped to de-escalate the situation,' he added.
Green said the law exists for a reason and people who lost loved ones in the tragedy need to have some recourse in knowing what caused this terrible situation.
'I feel like the whole city is just full of sadness,' he said.
'I think so many people, when they think about this tragedy are so emotionally engaged and hurt that … it's very hard for people to take because everybody can imagine that could have been my daughter, that could (be) my son, you know, so I think it's really tough for a lot of people.
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'Every community in this city is affected.'
— with files from Sophie Lui