A 5-year-old girl is confirmed to be one of 11 victims killed at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver, Canada, after a man drove through a crowd at the street festival. Kai-Ji Adam Lo is being charged with multiple counts of manslaughter, and according to police, there’s a possibility that the number of victims could still rise.
Other than their ages, details about the victims have not been released to the public, but information about Lo has been shared. And it seems he has a police record, which is raising concerns.
On April 26, 2025, Lo reportedly drove through a crowd of people at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival, Vancouver police confirmed in a statement. He was arrested there. Police referred to the incident as a “mass casualty.” The BBC reported that up to 100,000 people were in attendance.
Although not much is known about the victims, some of those injured include a 1-year-old boy and his father. Val De La Cruz and son Jeb De La Cruz were “tragically injured” according to a GoFundMe account set up by Val’s sister.
According to Nor De La Cruz, Jeb, who is almost 2, is in the ICU. “His condition is still critical, and he continues to be closely monitored,” she wrote in an update on the fundraising page.
Vancouver Police Interim Chief Steve Rai released a statement shortly after the arrest. He explained that Lo had “a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals, related to mental health.”
“While I’m not prepared to speak about the potential motive, I can now say with confidence that the evidence in this case does not lead us to believe this was an act of terrorism,” Rai also shared in the statement. Because the investigation was just beginning, authorities didn’t provide details, but it was clear the man had a history.
In a press conference broadcast by the Vancouver Sun, Rai said, “the suspect was known to police in certain circumstances.” He wouldn’t give additional information, calling it “unfair and inappropriate.” Rai did confirm, however, that Lo had been apprehended by people in the crowd before police arrested him.
Authorities formally made charges and named Kai-Ji Adam Lo as the suspect on April 27 in a post on X. In the statement, police amended the previous count of nine victims to 11. The victims range in age from 5 to 65, with “more than two dozen others injured.”
Update: Suspect charged in Lapu Lapu Day mass-casualty incident
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) April 27, 2025
A suspect has been charged with murder in the death of multiple festival-goers at a Filipino community block party Saturday night.
Eleven people, aged 5 to 65, were killed, and more than two dozen others injured… pic.twitter.com/t1UAYyYYnL
“Some of the victims in Saturday’s mass-casualty incident remain unidentified,” the statement read.
Lo, 30, has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder thus far. “The charge assessment is ongoing and further charges are anticipated,” police wrote on X.
