The pews of St. Mary the Virgin were not large enough to contain the number of mourners nor the immensity of their grief on Sunday, after a deadly attack on a Filipino festival that has been called the darkest day in Vancouver’s history.
Eleven people are dead and others remain in critical condition after a man drove an SUV through the crowds as the festival wrapped up on Saturday evening.
Police say the youngest victim was five years old; the oldest was 65.
At a Sunday morning vigil, Rev. Expedito Farinas choked back tears as he spoke about what the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party should have been: a celebration of Filipino culture and tradition, a day filled with dancing, food and laughter.
“Instead, it turned out to be a traumatizing day for the whole community — a tragic incident that took innocent lives,” he said.
Mourners hold candles during a memorial service on Sunday April 27, 2025 at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin for the victims of a car ramming attack in Vancouver that killed 11 people and insured dozens after a man drove an SUV through a crowd at the Filipino Lapu Lapu Day festival on Saturday April 26, 2025. Jesse Winter/ The Globe and MailJesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
Mourners lined the walls and corridors of the church and spilled out into the street, weeping, passing around boxes of tissue, and trying to process the magnitude of the loss.
The event is already one of the largest mass-fatality vehicle attacks in Canadian history, and police predict the number of fatalities may rise further.
The suspect has been identified as Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, who on Sunday was charged with eight counts of murder. Police say additional charges are expected, and that some of the victims have not yet been identified.
News of the attack prompted condolences from around the world, including from King Charles III and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The attack prompted all three main political leaders to change their plans on the eve of the election, and has also raised serious questions about the future of security at public events and supports for those with serious mental-health issues.
Mourners sing during a memorial service on April 27 at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
“This is the darkest day in our city’s history,” Vancouver Police Department Interim Chief Steve Rai told reporters at a press conference Sunday morning.
“It is impossible to overstate how many lives have been impacted forever by this lone individual,” he said. “There are many unanswered questions about this horrific crime, the motive of the person who did it, and whether anything could have been done to prevent it. There are many things we still don’t know. We are working hard to get all of the answers.”
Vancouver's interim police chief says this is the darkest day in the city's history after Saturday night's deadly incident when a vehicle was driven into a crowded festival, killing 11 and injuring dozens more. Steve Rai told reporters that consultations had determined that dedicated officers and heavy vehicle barricades would not be used at the festival site.
The Globe and Mail
Chief Rai has said that the accused has “a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health.” Mr. Lo was detained by members of the public at the scene, and is in police custody.
Names of the victims have not yet been released by police, but on Sunday, their identities began emerging in memorial posts and on fundraising pages.
Rizza Azzir was identified in Facebook posts and a GoFundMe campaign started by her cousin, Shelby Pacumio.
“To know Rizza was to truly love her. She was the sweetest soul — kind-hearted, humble, and hardworking person,” the fundraising page reads.
The page says Ms. Azzir and her husband moved from the Philippines to Canada “in search of a better life.”
The attack happened shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday, when a black Audi SUV hurtled into the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party, which was happening near John Oliver Secondary School at 41st Ave. and Fraser Street. The event was wrapping up, but there were still hundreds of people in the area when the SUV approached from the west and drove onto a street where food trucks were parked.
Witnesses described hearing the vehicle’s engine revving and seeing it plow into the crowds, throwing victims high into the air.
Mohamad Sariman and his wife were running out of food at their Kampong food truck as the evening drew to a close, but the couple decided to keep handing out the few chicken skewers they had left. Mr. Sariman was inside the truck when he heard what he initially thought was an explosion.
Food truck operator Mohamad Sariman shows a video he made of the aftermath of a car ramming attack during the Filipino Lapu-Lapu Day block party in Vancouver.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
“I look outside of my window and I saw a body lying on the ground,” he said. “I turned around and said, ‘Oh my God.’ I saw the whole thing.”
The couple did what they could to help, covering a body with sheets from their truck and calling 911. Mr. Sariman later noticed that an employee was spattered with someone else’s blood.
“We couldn’t sleep at night, because I kept visualizing the legs and arms,” he said.
Videos from the scene showed bodies strewn on the ground, as people tried to aid the injured. A black SUV could be seen on the road, with its hood and bumper crushed.
Mohamad Sariman, a food truck operator at the Filipino festival that was attacked on Saturday night, says he initially thought the incident which left 11 dead was an explosion.
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Sydney Roa, who was at the festival, remembers buying snacks at a food truck a few minutes before the attack. Had she not left the event when she did, she worries that she would have been one of the victims.
“It feels like it was a movie,” she said. “Like as if you were in an apocalypse.”
Romeo Reyes, whose entire family was at the festival, says he lost touch with one of his friends and her son for hours, finding out later that they were in hospital. Another mutual friend has a broken arm, while at least three others are badly injured.
“We don’t even know exactly who died and how many people are affected,” he said, speaking through tears. “My eyes are a leaky faucet. This is just so sad and unfair. It was supposed to be a day for our community to celebrate. Can’t we have just one good thing?”
On Sunday morning, friends and family of loved ones gathered at a support centre set up for victims inside the Douglas Community Centre on West 22nd Ave.
Kelly Yen said her friend attended the festival, and no one has been able to reach her since. Ms. Yen and two other friends went to the support centre on Sunday to ask police if their friend was among the injured or the dead.
Mourners drop off flowers on Sunday April 27, 2005 at one of several impromptu memorials for victims of a car ramming attack in Vancouver on Saturday, April 26, 2025 in South Vancouver. Police say that a driver slammed his SUV into a crowd of people at the Filipino Lapu Lapu Day block party, killing 11 and injuring dozens. Jesse Winter/ The Globe and MailJesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
“We’re very worried,” said Ms. Yen, before heading inside.
Sarah Ganzon arrived at the support centre with croissants and packaged pastries, hoping to help feed victims, police, support workers and volunteers.
“In the Philippines we have something called Bayanihan, so you kind of help your community … it came from that tradition, like you literally help carry someone’s house,” she said. “So when someone is in need, you try. This why I’m like looking for people to help.”
Ms. Ganzon, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, said some of her students attended the event Saturday, but as far as she knew, were uninjured.
Prime Minister Mark Carney — who attended the vigil alongside Premier David Eby, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and many other politicians — placed white roses at the memorial site before he, Mr. Eby, Mr. Sim and member of the legislature Mable Elmore kneeled and bowed their heads for a moment of silence.
Mr. Eby said he’d also been at the festival earlier in the day Saturday with his daughter.
He said he was moved by the efforts of first responders, many of whom dropped what they were doing and reported for work whether they were scheduled or not. Some of them, he said, were Filipino themselves and knew people at the festival.
RJ Aquino, chair of Filipino BC, struggled to contain his emotions during a news conference Sunday morning.
“Everyone’s having a hard time dealing with it right now, and it’s going to take some time for us to really figure things out,” he said.
Flowers left by mourners at an impromptu memorial for victims of the car ramming attack in Vancouver, on April 27.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
“It’s not lost on us and the people in our team that the spirit of the festival was about that resistance, resilience, that courage, that strength. And you know, we’re going to have to call that up in ourselves.”
Mable Elmore, the NDP MLA for the area, was also in tears as she spoke about the attack. The festival happened just steps from her constituency office.
“We are collectively shattered,” she said.
Chief Rai said police worked with the City of Vancouver and organizers to conduct a risk assessment for the festival, as they do with thousands of events every year, and it was decided that dedicated police officers and heavy-vehicle barricades wouldn’t be used.
He said he’s confident that the risk assessment and safety planning for the event were sound, but added: “It goes without saying this will change the landscape for deployment for police going forward.” He said more than 100 police officers were working on the investigation.
Speaking to media again later in the day, Chief Rai declined to elaborate on the driver’s previous interactions with police, but said there were none “immediately” prior to Saturday’s attack.
Mr. Sim said he’s ordered a full review of the city’s event safety protocols and risk assessments.
The area of the attack remained cordoned off with yellow police tape on Sunday, as investigators continued to collect evidence. People came to offer condolences, dropping off flowers at makeshift memorials around lamp posts and fire hydrants. Behind the police tape, debris was still visible on the road, including children’s shoes.
Three eyewitnesses describe what they saw when a car struck revellers at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver on Saturday night.
The Associated Press
With a report from Alexandra Posadzki and The Canadian Press