Filipino BC calls for more support responding to ‘social disaster’ of festival attack

VANCOUVER — The vehicle-ramming attack that killed 11 people at a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver last spring continues to reverberate through the community, and those affected need more support, organizers of the event said Friday.

A statement from Filipino BC said the second annual Lapu Lapu Day festival began as a day of cultural pride and ended in “unimaginable loss.”

While the tragedy of April 26 has been acknowledged, it said “the delivery of tangible support and resources has been slow and inconsistent.”

The group called the attack a “social disaster” and said it did not trigger the standard emergency response mechanisms that follow environment-related disasters.

“Yet, as we’ve seen, the impacts of this event have followed a disaster-like trajectory — with trauma, long-term care needs, and community-wide ripple effects.”

It said much of the response to the tragedy has been carried out by community groups and sustained through the Kapwa Strong Fund, a partnership with the United Way, as well as community and corporate donors.

“Communities stepped in out of necessity; co-ordinating emergency and recovery programs, connected people to trauma-informed, culturally sensitive care, and addressed gaps in the system through the facilitating of longer-term resources and social services,” the statement said.

“While this support has been critical, it is not sustainable.”

The group called on all levels of government to step up their responses to the attack, adding it took place in a neighbourhood that Filipino BC describes as “chronically underfunded and predominantly racialized.”

The statement came after police and Vancouver’s mayor released the final report of a review of public safety at outdoor events prompted by the attack.

Filipino BC said it was grateful for the review, which found their festival followed all required safety processes.

The report made eight recommendations to strengthen public safety, and the group says it was looking forward to their swift implementation.

It said families affected by the attack are grieving and mourning, while some survivors remain in hospital or in rehabilitation.

Mayor Ken Sim told a news conference on Thursday that the attack at the festival that drew 50,000 people marked the “darkest day in the history of Vancouver.”

He said no city could completely eliminate all risks to public safety and it wasn’t feasible to protect every event among thousands held each year.

Rather, Sim said he was “begging” the provincial government to step up its supports for people experiencing mental health challenges, which he described as the “root cause” of many public safety concerns in the city.

Adam Kai-Ji Lo is accused of driving an SUV through a street crowded with festival patrons on April 26 and he faces 11 counts of second-degree murder.

The B.C. Health Ministry said shortly after the attack that Lo was “being followed closely” under the Mental Health Act by a Vancouver Coastal Health care team.

Sim said he could not comment on the specifics of the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy as the case is before the court. Rather, the mayor said he was making general comments about mental health challenges the city has seen.

Lo’s defence counsel and Crown lawyers concluded their legal arguments last month over the question of whether he is mentally fit to stand trial.

A publication ban prevents evidence at the hearing from being reported.

A media consortium that includes The Canadian Press has challenged the ban, with rulings on both that application and the fitness hearing scheduled for Sept. 10.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press