30-year-old Kai-Ji Adam Lo was charged on Sunday with eight counts of second-degree murder after he allegedly rammed a black Audi SUV into a street full of people revelling at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver. Authorities identified the Saturday attack’s suspect as a local man who was “known” to law enforcement and mental health care professionals even before the massacre, Vancouver police said, as per the New York Post.
Alleged killer Kai-Ji Adam Lo’s rampage death toll has since risen to 11, leaving dozens of people injured. Officials said in a Sunday afternoon update that these numbers could rise in the coming days. The 30-year-old man is believed to have a history of mental health problems, and so police has ruled out the possibility of the tragedy being an act of terrorism.
Victims of Lo’s attack are reportedly aged from 5 to 65. Vancouver police revealed further charges are anticipated in addition to the eight counts of murder. The Vancouver festival attack has since appeared in court and will remain in custody.
Vancouver festival attack suspect Kai-Ji Adam Lo’s brother was killed last year
According to Vancouver Sun, prior to Lo’s alleged slayings, he lost his own brother to murder last year. “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,” Lo wrote on a fundraising page in the wake of his brother Alexander Lo’s death.
“Our reality has abruptly shifted. Despite our disagreements, the harsh truth that he’s no longer with us hits me with an overwhelming force.”
Dwight William Kematch, 39, was arrested and eventually charged with second-degree murder after 31-year-old Alexander Lo’s body was discovered in a home near Knight Street and East 33rd Avenue about 1 AM on January 28, 2024. Months later, Kai-Ji Adam Lo urged people to donate again after his mother ended up in a hospital for a month following a suicide attempt.
Although police say that they and health care professionals have had dozens of interactions with the Vancouver attack suspect due to his mental health, he reportedly has no prior criminal record, as per online court database. Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai also said that there had been interactions between police and Lo “immediately leading up to this event.
