On the evening of April 26, 2025, a tragedy occurred during the traditional Filipino community event "Lapu-Lapu Day" held in Vancouver, Canada.

A black Audi Q7 rushed into the crowd, causing 11 deaths and multiple injuries. Among the victims were a five-year-old girl and her parents.

The driver was subdued and arrested on the spot. The police confirmed his identity as Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30 years old. As the case continued to gain attention, details about his background gradually came to light - a story intertwined with family tragedies, mental struggles, and financial pressures.

From tragedy to tragedy

Police investigations revealed that Kai-Ji Adam Lo had faced a series of blows in the past year.

In January 2024, his brother Alexander Lo was murdered at home in Vancouver. The suspect, Dwight William Kematch, was arrested on the spot and is currently facing second-degree murder charges. Due to a publication ban imposed by the court, details of the case have not been disclosed publicly, but Kematch has pleaded not guilty.

After his brother's death, Adam Lo initiated a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe (which can no longer be viewed) to raise funds for his brother's funeral expenses. In the post, he wrote:

"My mother took on a heavy loan to help my brother build a simple house, and she has already endured pain and disappointment. Now my brother will never come home. This is a huge blow to me and my financially struggling mother. We cannot afford a decent funeral, and I hope to give him a dignified farewell."

The crowdfunding page also mentioned that the family had experienced "painful disputes" multiple times with the construction company while building this "house." Later, Adam Lo and his mother even filed a civil lawsuit against the construction company, accusing it of poor construction quality.

In August 2024, Adam Lo launched a second GoFundMe project to save his "almost collapsed" mother. He revealed in the post:

"Since my brother's death, my mother has suffered immense mental trauma and financial pressure. Her mortgage has skyrocketed, and she once attempted suicide. I was the one who found her unconscious in bed and called the ambulance."

He pleaded on the crowdfunding page: "I can't bear to see her suffer anymore, but I alone cannot help her. Only when she can pay bills and keep the house can she truly feel at ease."

Property records show that the Lo family purchased their current residence in cash in 2006, and it is still registered under the mother's name.

The police confirmed that Kai-Ji Adam Lo had a history of mental health issues and had contact with the police the day before the incident. However, the police at the time determined that his condition did not meet the criteria for mandatory intervention.

The Vancouver Sun quoted sources as saying that hours before the incident, a family member of Lo called a psychiatric emergency room for help. It was reported that he exhibited delusions and paranoid symptoms at the time.

Although authorities clearly stated that the car crash incident had no connection to terrorism motives, the role of mental health issues in the tragedy has sparked widespread public attention.

On-site footage: A single word "sorry"

After the accident, a video taken by eyewitnesses spread on social media.

In the footage, Kai-Ji Adam Lo was surrounded by people, with security personnel standing nearby, and some angrily questioned him from afar. Facing the camera, he stood there with a vacant expression and said:

"I’m sorry."

This scene made the national tragedy feel even more complex and heavy.

At the crime scene, a black Audi Q7 SUV was parked in the middle of the road, surrounded by police barriers and candles for mourning.

According to the investigation, this Audi was a 2018 model jointly signed for by Adam Lo and his mother in 2017 through a loan. Police then searched Lo's residence - a two-story house less than three kilometers away from the crime scene.

People spontaneously lit candles and placed flowers at the scene to mourn the lives of innocent victims ranging from 5 to 65 years old.

Currently, Kai-Ji Adam Lo has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder, and the police stated that additional charges are expected as the investigation progresses.

His lawyer Jim Heller confirmed that Lo originally planned to appear in court in October this year to respond to another civil lawsuit.

Jeremy Deutsch, a spokesperson for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, said on Tuesday afternoon that Kai-Ji Adam Lo was being cared for by the authority’s mental health team at the time and was under "extended leave" status according to the Mental Health Act.

So-called "extended leave" means that patients can live in the community but must follow a treatment plan, such as regularly visiting the mental health team and taking medication as required.

Deutsch said: "In this case, the care team followed established guidelines for extended leave patients, and there were no signs indicating that the patient failed to comply with the treatment plan or posed a threat to public safety."

The case remains under further investigation.

Source of information:

https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2025/04/28/suspect-in-vancouver-festival-killings-is-brother-of-2024-murder-victim

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499292997071979062/

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