MIGRANT rights group Migrante-USA has expressed its solidarity with the Filipino community in Vancouver, Canada following a horrific car ramming attack that left 11 dead, and more than two dozen others injured during a Filipino heritage festival on the evening of April 26, 2025.
“We condemn this horrific act of violence - an apparent hate crime. The attack happened during the community's celebration of its heritage, its resistance and of indigenous anti-colonial hero Lapu-Lapu, no less,” the group said in a statement.
“This exposes the dangerous conditions our Kababayan (compatriots) face daily, especially in the face of rising fascism and the overall scapegoating of immigrants for social ills. we call upon the Philippine Consulate-General of Vancouver to act swiftly and provide all support needed by victims, families, and survivors,” it added.
The Vancouver Police Department said a 30-year-old Vancouver resident, named Kai-Ji Adam Lo, was already charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.
The black hoodie-wearing suspect has appeared in court and remains in custody on April 27.
According to the authorities, the charge assessment is ongoing and further charges are anticipated after the suspect rammed his SUV into a neighborhood street party in South Vancouver, attended mostly by Filipinos celebrating the Lapu Lapu Day festival.
“As we await more information about the incident, we pray that our community remains strong and resilient imbued with the spirit of bayanihan during this difficult time,” the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver said in a separate statement, expressing its deep concern and sympathies to the victims.
Eyewitness Joshua Polintan said the driver “pushed the gas all the way through the whole block… crashing into everyone in his way.”
"I am mad at whoever did that because why would you do that? I don't know if it was a hate crime ... but it was just wrong," Polintan told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in a report.
Multiple media reports, however, said the suspect has an extensive mental health history.
Police Interim Chief Steve Rai told reporters on April 27 that the incident was the “darkest day in Vancouver’s history.”
Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miller said he was “deeply saddened to hear of the tragic events.”
“The Filipino community is a vibrant and faith-filled part of our Archdiocese. In moments like this, your spirit of hope, resilience, and deep trust in God’s providence shines even amid darkness,” he said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier expressed his condolences to the victims and tasked the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver “to ensure that the incident will be thoroughly investigated, and that the victims and their families are supported and consoled.”
“We are one with the families of the victims and the Filipino community in Vancouver during this difficult time,” the president added.
Canadian Prime minister Mark Carney also met the Filipino community on April 27 during a prayer vigil at the scene of the attack to condole with the families of the victims.
According to CBC, the Filipino community is the third-largest cultural group in British Columbia, with over 174,000 residents or 3.5 per cent of the province's total population. (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)