Home Driver charged with 8 counts of murder in Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day tragedy

Driver charged with 8 counts of murder in Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day tragedy

A victim lies near a food truck after a car drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver on Saturday April 26, 2025. There has been a number of fatalities and numerous injuries. Photo by Rich Lam /The Canadian Press

The man who allegedly plowed through a crowd enjoying a Filipino festival in southeast Vancouver on Saturday, killing at least 11, lost his brother to murder last year.

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Kai-ji Adam Lo, charged Sunday with eight counts of murder, had dozens of interactions with police related to his deteriorating mental health.

Vancouver Police said that more charges are expected as the investigation continues. And they said Sunday that some of the victims of the unprecedented slayings remain unidentified.

About 10 Vancouver officers executed a search warrant just after 7 p.m. Sunday at the east Vancouver house Lo, 30, shared with his mother. They carried boxes as they entered through a side gate that appeared to lead to both a basement suite and a laneway house.

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Police vehicles were parked both in front of the house and in the alley.

VPD conduct a search warrant at the east Vancouver home of the suspect in the deadly Lapu Lapu Day attack on Sunday evening Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Last year, Lo wrote on a fundraising page to cover his brother Alexander’s funeral costs that “it pains me deeply to put these words down, but my brother has been taken from us in a senseless act of violence, something we never saw coming.”

“Our reality has abruptly shifted. Despite our disagreements, the harsh truth that he’s no longer with us hits me with an overwhelming force,” Adam Lo said.

The body of Alexander Lo, 31, was found in a home near Knight Street and East 33rd Avenue about 1 a.m. on Jan. 28, 2024.

Dwight William Kematch, 39, was arrested at the house and later charged with second-degree murder.

  2. Police along 41st Avenue, west of Fraser, after someone drove into a crowd of people at Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver. Photo by Kim Bolan /PNG
  4. Vancouver Police secure the scene where a car drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver on Saturday April 26, 2025. Photo by Rich Lam /The Canadian Press
  6. Vancouver police investigate a crime scene after a man drove into pedestrians at the annual Lapu Lapu festival celebrating Filipino culture, at East 43rd Avenue and Fraser, in the south of Vancouver on April 26, 2025. Canadian police arrested a man on April 26 after a car plowed into a street party in the western city of Vancouver killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8:00 pm (0300 GMT Sunday) in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. Photo by DON MACKINNON/AFP via Getty Images)
  8. Vancouver police investigate a crime scene after a man drove into pedestrians at the annual Lapu Lapu festival celebrating Filipino culture, at East 43rd Avenue and Fraser, in the south of Vancouver on April 26, 2025. Canadian police arrested a man on April 26 after a car plowed into a street party in the western city of Vancouver killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8 p.m. in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighbourhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. Photo by DON MACKINNON/AFP via Getty Images)
  10. Steve Rai, Vancouver Police interim police chief, speaks during a news conference that there had been a vehicle and a suspect involved in an incident at the annual Lapu Lapu festival celebrating Filipino culture, at East 43rd Avenue and Fraser, in the south of Vancouver on April 26, 2025. Canadian police arrested a man on April 26 after a car plowed into a street party in the western city of Vancouver killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8 pm in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. Photo by DON MACKINNON/AFP via Getty Images)
  12. A victim lies near a food truck after a car drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver on Saturday April 26, 2025. There has been a number of fatalities and numerous injuries.Photo by Rich Lam Rich Lam/The Canadian /The Canadian Press
  14. A victim lies near a food truck after a car drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver on Saturday April 26, 2025. There has been a number of fatalities and numerous injuries.Photo by Rich Lam Rich Lam/The Canadian /The Canadian Press
  16. A victim lies near a food truck after a car drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver on Saturday April 26, 2025. There has been a number of fatalities and numerous injuries.Photo by Rich Lam /The Canadian Press
  18. VANCOUVER, B.C.: APRIL 26, 2025 – Multiple people were killed and more injured after a black SUV sped through crowds at the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party in Vancouver, B.C. near East 43rd and Fraser on Saturday, April 26, 2025. This black SUV was pictured at the scene after driving through a pedestrian-only area flanked by food trucks.Photo by SUBMITTED / POSTMEDIA
  20. VANCOUVER, B.C.: APRIL 26, 2025 – Multiple people were killed and more injured after a black SUV sped through crowds at the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party in Vancouver, B.C. near East 43rd and Fraser on Saturday, April 26, 2025. This black SUV was pictured at the scene after driving through a pedestrian-only area flanked by food trucks.Photo by SUBMITTED / POSTMEDIA
  22. April 26, 2025: A screenshot from a video taken in the aftermath of a mass casualty event at the Lapu Lapu festival on East 43rd Avenue near Fraser Street in Vancouver. Credit: Abigail Andiso
  24. The scene around Fraser Street and 41st Avenue after someone drove into a crowd of people at Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Photo credit: Kim Bolan/PNGPhoto by Kim Bolan
  26. The scene around Fraser Street and 41st Avenue after someone drove into a crowd of people at Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Photo by Kim Bolan /PNG
  28. (L-R) Mable Elmore, a member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, and RJ Aquino, chair of the community advocacy group Filipino BC, hold a news conference the day after a man drove a vehicle into pedestrians at the annual Lapu Lapu festival celebrating Filipino culture, in Vancouver, Canada, on April 27, 2025. Photo by NAV RAHI /AFP via Getty Images
  30. Mable Elmore (R), a member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, and RJ Aquino, is embraced at the end of a news conference the day after a man drove a vehicle into pedestrians at the annual Lapu Lapu festival celebrating Filipino culture, in Vancouver, Canada, on April 27, 2025. Canadian police arrested a man on April 26 after a car plowed into a street party in the western city of Vancouver killing 11 people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8:00 pm (0300 GMT Sunday) in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. The suspect acted deliberately and had a history of mental health problems, police said Sunday, warning the toll could rise. (Photo by Nav Rahi / AFP)Photo by NAV RAHI /AFP via Getty Images
  32. People pay their respects at the site of a fatal crash in Vancouver April 27, 2025 during a Lapu Lapu celebration. Nick Procaylo photo
  34. A woman places flowers on the scene where at least 11 people were killed by a speeding vehicle on Fraser St during Lapu Lapu Day celebrations in Vancouver, B.C., April 27, 2025.Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG
  36. Saul Schneider at the site of a fatal crash in Vancouver April 27, 2025 during a Lapu Lapu celebration. Nick Procaylo photoPhoto by Denise Ryan
  38. Aerial views of 43rd Avenue in south Vancouver in the aftermath of a driving rampage that left at least 11 people dead and many others injured during the windup of the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party celebrating Filipino culture on Saturday, April 26, 2025.Photo by Curtis Kreklau /for Postmedia News
  40. VANCOUVER, B.C., April 27, 2025 – BC Premier David Eby speaks at the scene where at least twelve people were killed by a speeding vehicle on Fraseer St during Lapu Lapu Day celebrations in Vancouver, B.C., April 27, 2025. (NICK PROCAYLO/PNG) 10107854A [PNG Merlin Archive]Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /10107854A
  42. People mourn near the scene where a car drove into a crowd of people during the Lapu Lapu Festival on April 27, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada. Police said a 30-year-old man drove his car into a crowd at a Filipino street festival, killing at least eleven people and injuring multiple others.Photo by Andrew Chin /Getty Images
  44. A young child and his mother leave a teddy bear and flowers, near the location where a vehicle drove into crowd at a street festival, in Vancouver, Sunday April 27, 2025. Members of the community are sharing their shock and devastation in the wake of a car-ramming attack at a Vancouver street festival that left 11 people dead and dozens more injured.Photo by Rich Lam /The Canadian Press
  46. People listen from outside St. MaryÕs Parish during afternoon mass that was at capacity, in Vancouver, on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Shock and grief rippled through Canada’s Filipino community on Sunday as members struggled to come to grips with an attack at a cultural street festival in Vancouver on Saturday that killed 11 people and injured dozens more.Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS
  48. A couple hugs near the scene the day after a driver killed multiple people during a Filipino community festival Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Vancouver, British Columbia.Photo by Lindsey Wasson /AP
  50. A person lights a candle at a memorial after a vehicle drove into a crowd during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, April 27, 2025.Photo by Lindsey Wasson /AP
  52. Visitors pay their respects at a memorial after a vehicle drove into a crowd during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, April 27, 2025.Photo by Lindsey Wasson /AP
  54. Two people react at a memorial after a vehicle drove into a crowd during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, April 27, 2025.Photo by Lindsey Wasson /AP
  56. People attend a vigil near the scene where a car drove into a crowd of people during the Lapu Lapu Festival on April 27, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada. Police said a 30-year-old man drove his car into a crowd at a Filipino street festival, killing at least eleven people and injuring multiple others.Photo by Andrew Chin /Getty Images
  58. People attend a vigil near the scene where a car drove into a crowd of people during the Lapu Lapu Festival on April 27, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada. Police said a 30-year-old man drove his car into a crowd at a Filipino street festival, killing at least eleven people and injuring multiple others.Photo by Andrew Chin /Getty Images
  60. People attend a vigil near the scene where a car drove into a crowd of people during the Lapu Lapu Festival on April 27, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada. Police said a 30-year-old man drove his car into a crowd at a Filipino street festival, killing at least eleven people and injuring multiple others.Photo by Andrew Chin /Getty Images

Lo wrote about how devastated his family was as he thanked donors for contributing more than $9,000 for his brother’s funeral.

“I’m burdened with remorse for not spending more time with him,” he said. “I implore you to keep his soul in your thoughts and prayers.”

Months later, in August, he again asked the public for donations to help his family after his mother attempted suicide and ended up in hospital for a month.

“The unimaginable grief brought upon my mother is something that is worse than my own sadness. For she brought him into this world, only for him to leave abruptly, it is a sadness I cannot being to express,” he said. “She lost a son already and is on the verge of losing her home. This has driven her to attempt to take her own life.”

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