Victim Services: Resources are available through the VPD Victim Services Unit: 604-717-2737 and VictimLinkBC: call or text 1-800-563-0808, or email 211-victimlinkbc@uwbc.ca.
Update: 3:20 p.m.
Five days after a deadly attack at a Vancouver Filipino festival 16 people remain in the hospital.
Const. Tania Visintin with the Vancouver Police Department says as of Wednesday, five people are in critical condition and one person is in serious condition.
"There are others who have been discharged and other people who have gone to hospitals or clinics on their own,” she says.
Seven women, two men, one nonbinary person and one child were killed after a driver drove a black Audi SUV through the Lapu Lapu festival crowd of people on April 26 just after 8 p.m.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, of Vancouver, has been arrested and charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.
When asked questions about the encounters police or mental health workers have had with the suspect, police said they are not prepared to speak to these details.
“We’re not getting into his history,” she says. “It’s just something we’re not prepared to speak to.”
Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed in an email that the suspect was under the supervision of a healthcare team, compliant with treatment and on “extended leave” in accordance with the Mental Health Act.
“In this situation, the care team followed established guidelines for a client on extended leave, and there was no indication this person was not following their treatment plan or presented a public safety risk,” VCH said.
“Extended leave is intended to help clients maintain their treatment plans while transitioning back to community for ongoing support. Extended leave allows people to be readmitted quickly if cause presents itself.
Visintin says it is just day five of a mass murder investigation and if more charges are approved police will notify reporters.
“It’s an evolving investigation,” she says. “There are many processes in place … we need to do this very thoroughly, methodically so we can get the best outcome.”
Investigators are doing a comprehensive video canvas spanning a 25-block radius along with witness interviews and reviewing all the tips that came in.
So far, 200 witnesses have come forward to police.
“It’s going to take some time,” says Visintin.
Original: 10:44 a.m.
Vancouver police will provide an update on their criminal investigation into a deadly festival attack this weekend that killed 11 people and injured more than two dozen.
On April 26, a man allegedly drove a black Audi SUV through a crowd of people attending the Lapu Lapu Filipino festival in Vancouver.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, of Vancouver, has been arrested and charged with eight counts of second-degree murder. Police have previously noted that the suspect has had prior interactions with police and medical professionals related to mental health.
One day before the fatal incident, police in a neighbouring jurisdiction to Vancouver had contact with the suspect.
“That was not criminal in nature, and it did not rise to the level where mental health intervention was required," said VPD Sgt. Steve Addison.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) said the alleged driver of the vehicle was under the care of a mental-health team and on “extended leave” in accordance with the Mental Health Act.
Homicide investigators executed a search warrant on April 27 at the suspect's residence in Vancouver.
“The purpose of that search warrant was to search for and seize evidence related to this investigation,” said Addison.
On Tuesday afternoon, Addison said seven people remained in the hospital in critical condition, and three in serious condition.
A 22-month-old baby boy is among those in serious condition.
Family members and friends have shared the identity of the 11 people killed and created fundraisers for them, which can be viewed in this article.
