Latest news with #CharlesShu
Calgary Herald
02-05-2025
- Calgary Herald
At a Lapu Lapu roadside memorial: 'I hear the victims in my nightmares'
Article content You can see it from blocks away, a sea of flowers, flickering candles and hand-drawn signs stretch along the sidewalk. Article content Article content A single trumpet note floats in the air — slow, solemn — as Charles Shu, a local musician, plays Amazing Grace at the corner of East 41st and Fraser Street just before 11 a.m. on May 1. Article content 'I came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' Shu said afterward, lowering his instrument. Article content Article content This is the largest of four spontaneous roadside memorials, stretching several hundred feet along the northern fence of John Oliver Secondary, that have emerged since the attack. They honour the 11 lives lost during the Lapu Lapu Day festival — now one of Vancouver's deadliest acts of mass violence. Article content Article content Throughout the morning, dozens of mourners stop by. Despite the steady hum of traffic at the busy intersection, most who gather at the memorial remain still, tearful, heads bowed. Some light candles or sticks of incense. Others whisper prayers into the wind. Article content Among them is Sofia Almonguera, a 19-year-old from Surrey who moves through the crowd in tears, cradling a bouquet of pink lilies. She slips past the City of Vancouver barricades and steps toward the heart of the memorial. Article content She stops before a felt-coloured sign that reads: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.' Above it, the Filipino flag pinned to the chain-link fence flutters in the breeze, brushing close to her face. Article content Article content Clutching the lilies to her chest, she stands motionless, eyes fixed on the growing mound of tributes. Then, slowly, she kneels, laying the flowers gently among the thousands already placed. Article content Article content 'This feels personal,' she says. 'In the Filipino community, we call people uncle, cousin, even if they're not related by blood. And we mean it. That's why this tragedy — it's like it happened to family.' Article content Nearby, Kenya Ford carefully places a handwritten poem among the sea of bouquets. It reads: 'For the injured, for the child, oh my heart, for the child, for whoever out there is listening, protection against senseless pain.' Her hands tremble as she places it at the memorial. Article content 'I was there,' Ford says. 'I wanted to do something. I had to do something.'
The Province
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Province
At a Lapu Lapu roadside memorial: 'I hear the victims in my nightmares'
'I came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' said musician Charles Shu at a Lapu Lapu roadside memorial. A brown teddy bear is hung on a fence at the site of the Lapu Lapu Day festival — a laminated message scrawled in black marker on a paper across its belly: 'Politicians, please stop the mental health crisis.' Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG You can see it from blocks away, a sea of flowers, flickering candles and hand-drawn signs stretch along the sidewalk. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors A single trumpet note floats in the air — slow, solemn — as Charles Shu, a local musician, plays Amazing Grace at the corner of East 41st and Fraser Street just before 11 a.m. on May 1. 'I came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' Shu said afterward, lowering his instrument. This is the largest of four spontaneous roadside memorials, stretching several hundred feet along the northern fence of John Oliver Secondary, that have emerged since the attack. They honour the 11 lives lost during the Lapu Lapu Day festival — now one of Vancouver's deadliest acts of mass violence. Throughout the morning, dozens of mourners stop by. Despite the steady hum of traffic at the busy intersection, most who gather at the memorial remain still, tearful, heads bowed. Some light candles or sticks of incense. Others whisper prayers into the wind. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Among them is Sofia Almonguera, a 19-year-old from Surrey who moves through the crowd in tears, cradling a bouquet of pink lilies. She slips past the City of Vancouver barricades and steps toward the heart of the memorial. She stops before a felt-coloured sign that reads: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.' Above it, the Filipino flag pinned to the chain-link fence flutters in the breeze, brushing close to her face. Clutching the lilies to her chest, she stands motionless, eyes fixed on the growing mound of tributes. Then, slowly, she kneels, laying the flowers gently among the thousands already placed. 'This feels personal,' she says. 'In the Filipino community, we call people uncle, cousin, even if they're not related by blood. And we mean it. That's why this tragedy — it's like it happened to family.' Nearby, Kenya Ford carefully places a handwritten poem among the sea of bouquets. It reads: 'For the injured, for the child, oh my heart, for the child, for whoever out there is listening, protection against senseless pain.' Her hands tremble as she places it at the memorial. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The 19-year-old had just left the festival when the attack began — and the weight of how close she came to tragedy still lingers. 'I was there,' Ford says. 'I wanted to do something. I had to do something.' Above her, a brown teddy bear hung on the fence, a laminated message scrawled in black marker on a paper across its belly: 'Politicians, please stop the mental health crisis.' Further south along Fraser Street, a second memorial lines the southeast fence of John Oliver Secondary. Around noon, two Filipino women — one of them Jonna Juarez — gently fasten three frog stuffed animals to the chain-link fence, their small green faces peeking out between flowers and handwritten notes. Sofia Almonguera at the 41st and Fraser memorial for the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy, in Vancouver on May 1. Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG 'I was going through my daughter's stuffed toys and saw the frog family,' Juarez says, her voice shaking. 'And I just thought, this is them .' Overcome with grief, Juarez weeps openly — her sorrow spilling into frustration at a system that she believes has failed the community. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This is the first time something like this has happened in Vancouver. It's devastating,' she says, her voice breaking. As Juarez speaks, a Filipino woman, whom she doesn't know, approaches her and places her hand on Juarez's shoulder, offering a quiet gesture of support. 'Mental health is an epidemic here. And now — now it's taken so many lives, left so many injured — just for the community to finally wake up to how serious this is,' Juarez says. As a gust of wind moves through the site, the mother pulls a lighter from her pocket and quietly relights a row of candles that had gone out. 'Our government needs to do more,' she adds. 'Mental health affects everybody.' Harley Sanga stands quietly before the same memorial, humming a soft song. The 29-year-old has visited the site every day since — each return a way to process the grief, and the nightmares that still wake him. He was at the festival when the attack unfolded. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'All I heard was screaming,' says Sanga, who wears a hoodie emblazoned with the Filipino flag. 'Then I saw the aftermath — but not all of it.' What he didn't see haunts him just as much. 'I hear the victims in my nightmares,' he says, voice barely above a whisper. Still, he comes back — again and again. 'I feel like I have to. I need to keep showing up, to keep paying my respects. For them.' In the five days since the attack, the memorials have steadily grown. By noon Thursday, the latest mourner, an RCMP officer in uniform, arrived and placed a bouquet of sunset-coloured daisies at the fence. sgrochowski@ Read More Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks News Sports BC Lions
Toronto Sun
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
At Lapu Lapu roadside memorial: 'I hear the victims in my nightmares'
'Came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' musician says A brown teddy bear is hung on a fence at the site of the Lapu Lapu Day festival — a laminated message scrawled in black marker on a paper across its belly: 'Politicians, please stop the mental health crisis.' Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG You can see it from blocks away, a sea of flowers, flickering candles and hand-drawn signs stretch along the sidewalk. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A single trumpet note floats in the air — slow, solemn — as Charles Shu, a local musician, plays Amazing Grace at the corner of East 41st and Fraser Street just before 11 a.m. on May 1. 'I came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' Shu said afterward, lowering his instrument. This is the largest of four spontaneous roadside memorials, stretching several hundred feet along the northern fence of John Oliver Secondary, that have emerged since the attack. They honour the 11 lives lost during the Lapu Lapu Day festival — now one of Vancouver's deadliest acts of mass violence. Throughout the morning, dozens of mourners stop by. Despite the steady hum of traffic at the busy intersection, most who gather at the memorial remain still, tearful, heads bowed. Some light candles or sticks of incense. Others whisper prayers into the wind. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Among them is Sofia Almonguera, a 19-year-old from Surrey who moves through the crowd in tears, cradling a bouquet of pink lilies. She slips past the City of Vancouver barricades and steps toward the heart of the memorial. She stops before a felt-coloured sign that reads: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.' Above it, the Filipino flag pinned to the chain-link fence flutters in the breeze, brushing close to her face. Clutching the lilies to her chest, she stands motionless, eyes fixed on the growing mound of tributes. Then, slowly, she kneels, laying the flowers gently among the thousands already placed. 'This feels personal,' she says. 'In the Filipino community, we call people uncle, cousin, even if they're not related by blood. And we mean it. That's why this tragedy — it's like it happened to family.' Nearby, Kenya Ford carefully places a handwritten poem among the sea of bouquets. It reads: 'For the injured, for the child, oh my heart, for the child, for whoever out there is listening, protection against senseless pain.' Her hands tremble as she places it at the memorial. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The 19-year-old had just left the festival when the attack began — and the weight of how close she came to tragedy still lingers. 'I was there,' Ford says. 'I wanted to do something. I had to do something.' Above her, a brown teddy bear hung on the fence, a laminated message scrawled in black marker on a paper across its belly: 'Politicians, please stop the mental health crisis.' Further south along Fraser Street, a second memorial lines the southeast fence of John Oliver Secondary. Around noon, two Filipino women — one of them Jonna Juarez — gently fasten three frog stuffed animals to the chain-link fence, their small green faces peeking out between flowers and handwritten notes. Sofia Almonguera at the 41st and Fraser memorial for the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy, in Vancouver on May 1. Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG 'I was going through my daughter's stuffed toys and saw the frog family,' Juarez says, her voice shaking. 'And I just thought, this is them .' Overcome with grief, Juarez weeps openly — her sorrow spilling into frustration at a system that she believes has failed the community. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This is the first time something like this has happened in Vancouver. It's devastating,' she says, her voice breaking. As Juarez speaks, a Filipino woman, whom she doesn't know, approaches her and places her hand on Juarez's shoulder, offering a quiet gesture of support. 'Mental health is an epidemic here. And now — now it's taken so many lives, left so many injured — just for the community to finally wake up to how serious this is,' Juarez says. As a gust of wind moves through the site, the mother pulls a lighter from her pocket and quietly relights a row of candles that had gone out. 'Our government needs to do more,' she adds. 'Mental health affects everybody.' Harley Sanga stands quietly before the same memorial, humming a soft song. The 29-year-old has visited the site every day since — each return a way to process the grief, and the nightmares that still wake him. He was at the festival when the attack unfolded. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'All I heard was screaming,' says Sanga, who wears a hoodie emblazoned with the Filipino flag. 'Then I saw the aftermath — but not all of it.' What he didn't see haunts him just as much. 'I hear the victims in my nightmares,' he says, voice barely above a whisper. Still, he comes back — again and again. 'I feel like I have to. I need to keep showing up, to keep paying my respects. For them.' In the five days since the attack, the memorials have steadily grown. By noon Thursday, the latest mourner, an RCMP officer in uniform, arrived and placed a bouquet of sunset-coloured daisies at the fence. sgrochowski@ Read More Editorial Cartoons Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA NHL
Vancouver Sun
01-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
At a Lapu Lapu roadside memorial: 'I hear the victims in my nightmares'
Article content You can see it from blocks away, a sea of flowers, flickering candles and hand-drawn signs stretch along the sidewalk. Article content Article content A single trumpet note floats in the air — slow, solemn — as Charles Shu, a local musician, plays Amazing Grace at the corner of East 41st and Fraser Street just before 11 a.m. on May 1. Article content 'I came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' Shu said afterward, lowering his instrument. Article content Article content This is the largest of four spontaneous roadside memorials, stretching several hundred feet along the northern fence of John Oliver Secondary, that have emerged since the attack. They honour the 11 lives lost during the Lapu Lapu Day festival — now one of Vancouver's deadliest acts of mass violence. Article content Article content Throughout the morning, dozens of mourners stop by. Despite the steady hum of traffic at the busy intersection, most who gather at the memorial remain still, tearful, heads bowed. Some light candles or sticks of incense. Others whisper prayers into the wind. Article content Among them is Sofia Almonguera, a 19-year-old from Surrey who moves through the crowd in tears, cradling a bouquet of pink lilies. She slips past the City of Vancouver barricades and steps toward the heart of the memorial. Article content She stops before a felt-coloured sign that reads: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.' Above it, the Filipino flag pinned to the chain-link fence flutters in the breeze, brushing close to her face. Article content Article content Clutching the lilies to her chest, she stands motionless, eyes fixed on the growing mound of tributes. Then, slowly, she kneels, laying the flowers gently among the thousands already placed. Article content Article content 'This feels personal,' she says. 'In the Filipino community, we call people uncle, cousin, even if they're not related by blood. And we mean it. That's why this tragedy — it's like it happened to family.' Article content Nearby, Kenya Ford carefully places a handwritten poem among the sea of bouquets. It reads: 'For the injured, for the child, oh my heart, for the child, for whoever out there is listening, protection against senseless pain.' Her hands tremble as she places it at the memorial.
