What to know about the car ramming attack at a Vancouver street festival

A suspect has been charged with multiple counts of murder and police continued their investigation Monday after 11 people were killed when an SUV plowed through a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver over the weekend.

Witnesses described narrowly jumping out of the way of the speeding vehicle as bodies flew through the air. Dozens of people were injured. Officials said the suspect, a 30-year-old man, had a history of mental health issues.

Investigators have ruled out terrorism

There was no early indication of a motive, but police said it wasn’t a terrorist attack. The suspect, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, has “a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health,” said Vancouver Interim Police Chief Steve Rai.

Lo, a Vancouver resident, was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder in a video appearance before a judge Sunday. He has not yet entered a plea. The Associated Press could not immediately reach an attorney representing him.

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.

Investigators were collecting evidence at the scene and had executed a search warrant at a Vancouver property, police said.

A 5-year-old girl and a beloved teacher were among the victims

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.

Kira Salim, also killed, worked as a teacher and counselor 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 superintendent said.

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.

“Last night families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, father, son or a daughter. Those families are living every family’s nightmare,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday.

The festival celebrated Filipino culture

The black Audi SUV sped down a closed street Saturday night and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, which celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers in the 16th century.

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.

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’s brother was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.

Another witness described bodies flying through the air “like bowling pins.”

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.