Alejandro Samper was preparing for work on Saturday night when he received a call from his sister’s fiance about a “terrible accident”, and hastened to the scene of the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver.
He soon learned that his sister Glitza Daniela Samper, her mother, Glitza Maria Caicedo and her father Daniel Samper had been run over by a SUV that crossed the crowd in the Filipino cultural event.
A 30-year-old man, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, faces eight second-degree murder positions after 11 people died and more were injured at the Lapu-Lapu Festival of the Filipina Community on Saturday night.
He said that her sister was taken to the General Hospital of Vancouver, where she died early Sunday, and her two parents had also died.
Samper says that he can not allow him to see the bodies of his family members.
“I’m destroyed,” Samper said Tuesday. “All my world has taken me away.”
Samper said the family arrived in Canada in the early 2000s, partly to escape violence in Colombia, and is 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 simply makes no sense. Canada is supposed to be a safe place.”
Samper said that many questions have been left about what happened and wonders why the festival did not have barricades like other events, pointing out that he was in an Vaisakhi event the previous week where protection measures were taken.
He said his parents were the “most pleasant people” who helped many others, and the family was “very, very close.”
“They won’t let us see the bodies because everything is under investigation,” he said. “So, I could never say goodbye to my parents.”
He said he has been dealing with a “bombing” of telephone calls on the tragedy, and believes that it is important to speak because “we need to convey this message, such as, it is unacceptable that this was allowed to happen.”
Four people have been identified among those who were killed at a Filipino festival in southern Vancouver during the weekend. As Jon Hernández reports, a total of 11 people died after a vehicle rammed the crowd at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival.
“Where is the security? Where was the police when this happened? In addition, as the social system, I heard this person who killed everyone, you know, had a very tragic life.”
Samper said he is worried about those who survived the tragedy as well.
“There were many victims in this tragedy, and these victims, if they are not properly supported, in 10 years … they will still be angry, resentful,” he said.
“I am lucky to have a big family and have a lot of support. If I had nothing like that, I would be very angry, very resentful. But at this time I am flooded with a lot of love.”
Independent Commission
The Prime Minister of British Columbia, David Eby, says that his government will launch an independent commission on the alleged attack and a public investigation if the criminal case does not provide answers that the public is looking for.
Eby says that the commission will have a “fast change” to obtain complete responses for event and festivals organizers in the province in June.
Richard Le, 47, his wife Linh Hoang, 30, and his daughter Katie Le, 5, were among those who were killed at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival, according to Richard’s brother, Toan Le. Toan said Richard was a 16 -year -old son, Andy, who had stayed at home that day. Hoang was Andy’s stepmother, Toan said, and he had raised him as if he was his.
He says he wants the public to “gather and celebrate” during the summer without feeling insecure.
The prime minister says that if it were not for police investigation and the next criminal trial, his government would already call public investigation.
David Eby says that people should be able to meet and celebrate during the summer without feeling insecure. He announced on Tuesday that his government will launch an independent commission on the tragedy at a Filipino festival in Vancouver in which a car got into the crowd, killed 11 people and hurting dozens of others. Speaking to journalists on Monday, he also intervened in the federal result of the elections.
Eby says that the number one priority is to guarantee justice for the Philippine community, ensuring that the accused man is “retained and judged and condemned by these murders.”
The prime minister says that the government is committed to obtaining all the answers on how this could have happened.
Police have said that they are probably more charges against the suspect as their investigation continues.
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was accused of eight second-degree murder positions in the tragedy of the Filipino Filipino Festival of Lapu-Lapu on Saturday, and the police say that they are likely to be more charges. Sergeant of the police spokesman. Steve Addison confirmed on Monday that the defendant, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, had ‘contact’ with the police that ‘was not a criminal nature’ in a neighboring jurisdiction the day before the alleged attack at the festival.
In an update on Tuesday, the Vancouver police spokesman, the sergeant. Steve Addison said a 22 -month -old boy was among those who were seriously injured in the alleged attack.
Seven people remain in critical and three in serious condition, as a result of the accident.
Addison also defended the preparation of the police before the Lapu-Lapu Day event, and said they had deployed heavy vehicles barriers to only nine of the 3,200 events of the city in 2024.
“We have said very clearly that, although we believe that the planning of this particular event was solid and that everything was done appropriately, we are certainly open to reviews and to consider what changes should be made in the future.”
