A Teacher, a Beloved Family: What We Know About Victims of Vancouver Attack

A teacher, a real estate agent, the agent’s wife, and their 5-year-old daughter are among the 11 victims identified after a driver rammed his SUV into a crowd at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver on Saturday, April 26.

The attack occurred just after 8 p.m. at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival, an annual event that celebrates Filipino culture, in East Vancouver.

“All I can remember is seeing bodies flying up in the air higher than the food trucks themselves and landing on the ground and people yelling and screaming,” Clothing vendor Kris Pangilinan told the Associated Press.

Vancouver Police arrested Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, at the packed scene that left more than 30 others injured. He was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.

Interim Police Chief Steve Rai called the attack “the darkest day in Vancouver’s history,” the AP reported.

The victims range in age from 5 to 65, authorities say.

Kira Salim

Salim worked as a teacher and counsellor at Fraser River Middle School and New Westminster Secondary School.  

Salim “was a valued member of our community whose wisdom and care for our middle and secondary school students had a powerful impact,” the district’s superintendent Mark Davidson and board chair Maya Russell wrote on April 28. “Their work, and the great spirit they brought to it, changed lives.”

“We are a small but mighty community. This is one of the qualities of New Westminster that Kira loved the most,” it said.

New West Pride also posted a tribute on Facebook: “Our community is mourning the loss of Kira Salim, whose life was taken over the weekend at the Lapu Lapu tragedy. They were an epic drag king, a wonderful exuberant contributor to our local community, volunteer, activist, local educator, mental health worker. Kira will be deeply missed.”

The Le Family

Richard Le, his 30-year-old wife Linh Hoang, and their 5-year-old daughter Katie were among the fatalities, Le’s younger brother Toan Le told CTV News.

Richard was a real estate agent and taught badminton and tennis to his 16-year-old son as well to others in the community, according to CTV News.

According to a GoFundMe page, Linh was “known for her kindness and gentle spirit” and had been planning a trip to visit her family in Vietnam.

Katie was a kindergartener who “was vibrant, joyful, and full of life,” the post read.

Toan said Andy had plans to go to the festival but changed his mind at the last minute.

“Andy was supposed to join them, but I think at the last moment he decided he wanted to stay home to finish some homework,” he said.

“The last thing that Andy received was a text from his dad at like 8:06 p.m. saying don’t come any more, because it’s over and we’re going to head home.”