1) Three members of family from Colombia died in B.C. festival attack, says son

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Darryl Greer, April 29, 2025.

Alejandro Samper, left to right, his sister Glitza Daniela Samper, his mother Glitza Maria Caicedo and his father Daniel Samper are shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO – Alejandro Samper *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Alejandro Samper was getting ready for work on Saturday night when he received a call from his sister’s fiance about a “terrible accident,” and he rushed to the scene of the Lapu Lapu Day festival in Vancouver. 

He soon learned that his sister Glitza Daniela Samper, his mother Glitza Maria Caicedo and his father Daniel Samper had been hit by a vehicle that rampaged through the crowd at the Filipino cultural event. 

He said his sister was brought to Vancouver General Hosptial where she passed away early Sunday, and both his parents had been killed and he is yet to be allowed to see their bodies. 

“I’m just destroyed,” Samper said Tuesday. “My whole world’s taken away from me.” 

Police have charged a 30-year-old man with eight counts of murder and say more charges will likely come. Eleven people were killed and about three dozen were sent to hospitals around the Lower Mainland. 

Samper said the family came to Canada in the early 2000s, in part to escape the violence in Colombia, and he’s now trying to understand what happened and why. 

“My parents sacrificed everything in Colombia, their careers, their lifestyle, everything to give us a better future here in Canada,” he said. “It just doesn’t make any sense. Canada is supposed to be a safe place.”

Samper said he’s been left with “many questions” about what happened, and wonders why the festival didn’t have barricades like other events, noting that he was at a Vaisakhi event the previous week where protective measures were taken. 

He said his parents were the “nicest people” who helped many others, and the family was “very, very close.” 

“They won’t let us see the bodies because everything’s under investigation,” he said. “So, I never even got to say goodbye to my parents.” 

He said he’s been dealing with a “bombardment” of phone calls about the tragedy, and believes it’s important to speak out because “we need to get this message across, like, it’s unacceptable this was allowed to happen.”

“Where’s the security? Where were the police when this happened? Also, like the social system, I heard this person that killed everyone, you know, had a very tragic life.” 

The brother of another family identified them as victims this week. Toan Le said his brother, Richard Le, Le’s wife Linh Hoang and their five-year-old daughter Katie were all killed in Saturday’s attack. 

2) (Updated) Father, mother, daughter, 5, killed in Vancouver festival attack, leave son behind

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Nono Shen, April 28, 2025

Richard Le sent a text to his 16-year-old son on Saturday at about 8 p.m., saying the rest of family would be leaving the Lapu Lapu Day festival shortly, instead Le, his wife Linh Hoang and their five-year-old daughter Katie were run down moments after the text was sent, Le’s brother said Monday.

Police and witnesses have said a black SUV raced down a street lined with food trucks, scattering people in its wake, killing 11 and injuring dozens of others, some of whom remain in hospital in critical or serious condition. 

A 30-year-old Vancouver man has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder and police have said more charges are likely as victims are identified. 

Toan Le started a fundraiser on behalf of his brother, sister-in-law and niece, saying his nephew, Andy, only survived because he decided to stay home at the last moment to finish his homework. 

Le said in an interview that they learned Saturday that Richard had been killed, but detectives told the family Sunday that Hoang as well as Katie Le, who was just about to graduate from kindergarten, had also been killed. 

He described Katie has “super energetic,” saying “she had a very lovable personality, and she really loved just being around people.”

Le said his sister-in-law was a dedicated mother to Katie and step-mother to Andy. “She’s a really good person,” he said. 

Richard Le sold real estate for a Vancouver firm and coached badminton and tennis. 

“If I was to tell my brother and to everyone else, just cherish your loved ones and your friends, family, because you never know when they might not be around and you won’t have a second chance. So, take advantage of the time you have (with) them and cherish those people that you love,” he said. 

Le said Andy is in a state of shock, trying to absorb everything, and that his life has changed over just a few days. 

A statement from Royal Pacific Realty, where Le worked, said it has received an “outpouring of shock, grief, and condolences from colleagues, friends, and clients who knew and admired Richard.”

A teacher-counsellor from suburban New Westminster has also been identified as a victim in the festival attack. 

Kira Salim’s loss has left their friends and colleagues shocked and heartbroken, said a statement issued Monday from the superintendent at the New Westminster school district.

“Kira was a valued member of our community whose wisdom and care for our middle- and secondary-school students had a powerful impact,” it said. “Their work, and the great spirit they brought to it, changed lives.”

The sitting at the B.C. Legislature in Victoria on Monday began with a prayer by Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens, who addressed the national Day of Mourning for injured and killed workers, as well as the victims of Saturday’s attack. 

Speaker Raj Chouhan then led the members in a moment of silence for those affected by the ramming before adjourning the session until Tuesday.

RJ Aquino from Filipino BC, which organized the Lapu Lapu festival, told a crowd at a vigil on Sunday night that the community is confused, devastated and numbed by the tragedy.

Aquino said there are many people who witnessed the attack, and others who lost loved ones or were hurt will need care and support.

The accused in the rampage remains in custody. His next court appearance has been scheduled for May 26.

Vancouver Police have said the attack was not an act of terror. While they didn’t have a motive, they said the suspect has had multiple mental health interactions with their officers.

B.C. Premier David Eby told a crowd of mourners before the vigil that people across the country and around the world are thinking about them.

“I can’t imagine the heartbreak that all of you are feeling,” he said.

Aquino said his group is working around the clock to put together an information page that will let people know how to get help and support.

2) (Update) Carney, Poilievre, Singh express condolences to victims of Vancouver vehicle attack

The leaders of the three main federal parties paused their election campaigns Sunday to express their sorrow and offer condolences to victims and their families hours after a vehicle attack in Vancouver killed 11 people and injured many more.

“Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughter. Those families are living every family’s worst nightmare,” Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Liberal leader, said of the Saturday evening attack during a stop in Hamilton.

“I know that I join all Canadians in mourning with you. I know that Canadians are united with you.”

Carney said he had been briefed by Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and his national security adviser. Later on social media, Carney said he spoke with British Columbia Premier David Eby to offer his condolences.

“The Vancouver Police Department and municipal and provincial officials have the full support of the federal government as they conduct their investigations,” he wrote.

McGuinty also has spoken with B.C. Public Safety Minister Garry Begg.

Eby said he would be meeting with Carney later in the day alongside community leaders.

Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai said a 30-year-old local man was arrested after an SUV plowed through a crowded South Vancouver street at high speed on Saturday, leaving a trail of wreckage and victims on the ground.

On Sunday, Rai said 11 people have died and the death toll could climb in the coming days.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was due to host multiple rallies across Ontario on Sunday. He met with members of the Filipino community at a church in Mississauga, Ont., in the morning before making a statement.

“I just wanted you all to know that our hearts are with you today. All Canadians are united in solidarity with the Filipino community,” Poilievre said.

“Their loved ones — their brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers — all of them will have a deep hole in their hearts today. So we will try to fill it with the love of the entire country.”

At a rally in Oakville, Ont., shortly after, Poilievre repeated his standard campaign messages about affordability and safer streets but spoke for a shorter time than usual.

The Conservative party posted several times about violent crime on social media Sunday. A Global News reporter posted on X that the Conservative party’s Instagram account shared a video about violent crime with a caption that referred directly to the Vancouver attack.

The caption on that post was changed later in the day. The Conservatives did not answer when asked who decided on that change and if they endorsed the original message, and pointed The Canadian Press to a transcript of what the video said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the Vancouver festival Saturday night and left just minutes before the attack. He later told reporters he didn’t have the words to describe the tragedy.

“I was there and I just imagine the faces of the kids that I saw smiling, dancing. I imagine the aunties that were there. I don’t even know what to say. It’s just horrific. I’m heartbroken,” he said.

“I just want the Filipino community to know we stand with you. Everyone is with you, everyone is standing with you.”

Carney was supposed to meet with supporters in Hamilton at 8 a.m. but the event was cancelled. He instead held a 10 a.m. news conference before heading for a campaign event in Saskatoon.

The Liberal leader had a day of events scheduled in multiple cities on Sunday but changed his plans in the wake of the attack.

A Liberal rally scheduled for Calgary and another in Richmond, B.C., have been cancelled. A Liberal rally planned for Edmonton will now be smaller in size.

Singh had multiple campaign stops planned for Sunday in Vancouver, New Westminster and Coquitlam in B.C. He was also expected to visit the Vaisakhi parade in Oliver, B.C. to celebrate the Sikh holiday. Those events have been cancelled.

Speaking in Penticton, B.C. on Sunday, Singh was moved to tears as he vowed never to “let hate win.”

“We honour those we lost, not by giving into fear, but by living in their spirit, by building a Canada where no one is treated as disposable,” Singh said.

Singh attended a Tagalog service at St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver Sunday afternoon, alongside NDP Vancouver — Kingsway candidate Don Davies. The attack took place in Davies’ riding. 

Davies said he’d spent five hours at the festival Saturday, and said Sunday afternoon’s service will have been the third he’s attended since the tragedy.

“The faith of the Filipino community is strong, but I thought the best way to be together and to walk with the Filipino community is to be with them as they process, share their faith and pray today,” Davies said.

Recent polls show the Liberals are leading in the race but remain in a head-to-head battle with the Conservatives. Voters head to the polls on Monday.

— With files from Kyle Duggan in Hamilton, Cassandra Szklarski in Oakville, Ont., and David Baxter in Penticton, B.C. and Burnaby, B.C.

4) (Updated) Nine dead after SUV plows through Vancouver Filipino festival, man arrested

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Chuck Chiang, April 27, 2025

Police in Vancouver say nine people are dead after an SUV plowed through a Vancouver street festival being staged by the city’s Filipino community Saturday night, leaving a trail of debris and victims in its wake.

Witness Nic Magtajas described an SUV roaring through the Lapu Lapu Day crowd at high speed,  sending pedestrians’ bodies flying. 

“I saw a bunch of people go over, go high up from the impact of hitting the car and such,” he said.

Police said multiple people were also injured and sent to several hospitals, while Vancouver Coastal Health declared a mass-casualty event.

Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai told a midnight news conference that a 30-year-old Vancouver man who was known to police was arrested after being initially apprehended by bystanders.

Video circulating on social media shows 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 says, holding his hand to his head.

Rai declined to comment on the video but said the person in custody was a “lone male” who was “known to police in certain circumstances.”

VPD said in a statement that a man “drove into a large crowd” at the street festival near East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street just at 8:14 p.m.

The street had been lined with flags and food carts for what was billed by organizers as a party to honour “the rich tapestry of cultures that make up the beautiful mosaic of British Columbia and the Philippines alike.”

Lapu Lapu Day is named after an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th Century.

Video posted on social media showed victims and wreckage strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least a dozen people immobile on the ground, while a black SUV with a wrecked front section was at the scene.

Vancouver Coastal Health told The Canadian Press it had confirmed a “code orange” mass casualty event. The health authority was not able to confirm the number of injured or dead as of late Saturday night.

Magtajas and Jihed Issa were working at a store facing the festival and said they initially had their backs to the scene when they heard a car engine revving and turned around to look.

“And then we just see him go full speed through a bunch of people,” said Magtajas, 19. 

Magtajas described the sound of the impacts and said each contact with the vehicle was “so loud.” 

“Just a lot of loud bangs, not to mention the engine revving as well,” he said.

Issa, 17, said he saw the black SUV going through the entire crowd on the street.

“People were screaming,” he said. “It (the vehicle) went all the way to the end of the street,” he said.

“After it happened, I ran outside to the street and I was trying to figure out what happened. I made it to halfway into the street, looked around (and) there was a lot of people panicking, people on the floor — bodies, if you will.”

Issa said he saw the SUV come to a stop at the end of the street, with smoke coming from it.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had been attending the festival just before the tragedy unfolded, in the closing stages of the federal election campaign.

He said on social media platform X that he was “horrified” to learn about what happened at the festival.

“As we wait to learn more, our thoughts are with the victims and their families — and Vancouver’s Filipino community, who were coming together today to celebrate resilience,” Singh said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on social media platform X that he was “devastated to hear about the horrific events” at the festival.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you,” Carney wrote.

“We are monitoring the situation closely, and thankful to our first responders for their swift action.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he was “shocked by the horrific news.”

“My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack. Thank you to the first responders who are at the scene as we wait to hear more,” he wrote on X.

Rai said he had no knowledge whether the attack was related to Monday’s federal election.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement that he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by what he called a “horrific incident” at the festival, while B.C. Premier David Eby said in a post to social media platform X that he’s “shocked and heartbroken” to hear about the lives lost and those injured.

Saturday’s event was the second annual street celebration of the day in Vancouver, and organizers had said it was an opportunity to mark “the enduring affect Filipino values, notably the spirit of bayanihan — the collective community effort.”

Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies was at the festival earlier in the day and he was visibly shaken after he returned to the scene, speaking about the stark contrast between the joy he saw earlier versus “this appalling destruction.”

“I’m just sickened and appalled,” Davies said. “I wanted to come immediately and see what’s happening and offer my support and prayers to the Filipino community in particular, but the wider community at large.

“This is an attack that we don’t expect to see anywhere, but especially not in Canada.”

Davies said he couldn’t understand what would motivate the incident, but the community will not let it “crush the spirit.”

“I hope that as many lives as possible can be saved,” he said. “And we just have to condemn this, and we can’t let this define us.”

The investigation is being led the Vancouver Police major crime section.

— With files from David Boles in Edmonton.