Vancouver’s streets, usually alive with the hum of a diverse city, turned grim on April 26, 2025, when a black Audi SUV tore through the Lapu Lapu Day festival, leaving 11 dead and dozens injured. The driver, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, a 30-year-old local, now faces eight counts of second-degree murder, with more charges likely. But behind the headlines of this horrific act lies a story of personal tragedy that reshaped Lo’s world long before that fateful night—a story rooted in the violent loss of his brother, Alexander Lo.
In January 2024, Alexander Lo, 31, was found dead in a home near Knight Street and East 33rd Avenue in East Vancouver. Police arrested Dwight William Kematch, 39, at the scene, charging him with second-degree murder. The trial, set for October 2025, remains under a publication ban, leaving few details public. For Kai-Ji, the loss wasn’t just a headline—it was a gut punch that upended his family’s reality. He poured his grief into a GoFundMe page titled “In loving memory of Alexander Lo, funeral costs,” which raised $9,320 to give his brother a proper farewell. The fundraiser painted a picture of a family blindsided by violence, struggling to cope.
Kai-Ji wrote raw, aching words on the page, describing how Alexander’s death in “a senseless act of violence” hit him “with an overwhelming force.” He spoke of their mother, Lisa, who took out hefty loans to build Alexander a small laneway home, only to face the crushing truth that he’d never live in it. The financial strain compounded their sorrow—Lisa, already stretched thin, couldn’t cover funeral costs alone. Kai-Ji’s plea was simple: he wanted his brother to “find peace with a dignified farewell.” The fundraiser wasn’t just about money; it was a window into a man grappling with a fractured family and a future that felt stolen.
The ripples of Alexander’s death didn’t stop there. Soon after, Lisa was hospitalized in intensive care following a suicide attempt, a fact Kai-Ji shared in updates to the GoFundMe. Neighbors in their East Vancouver community, where the family had lived for over a decade, noticed the home grow quieter, its windows shuttered, security cameras watching. Police visits became routine, sometimes for mental health checks, other times for unspecified reasons. One neighbor recalled hearing yelling from the house, a sign of the turmoil within. By April 2025, police were at the Lo residence again, this time seeking security footage just weeks before the festival attack.
Kai-Ji’s life, already marred by loss, was further shadowed by his own struggles. Court records show no prior criminal history, but police and healthcare professionals had dozens of interactions with him over mental health concerns. Sources close to the case say he battled delusions and paranoia, with a family member desperately calling a hospital psych ward hours before the April 26 attack, hoping for intervention. Whatever action was taken—or not—remains unclear, but the call underscored a man spiraling in plain sight.
The Lapu Lapu festival, a vibrant celebration of Filipino heritage, drew thousands to East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street. At around 8 p.m., Lo’s Audi SUV breached a barricade, moving slowly at first, then accelerating into the crowd. Witnesses described chaos: bodies strewn across the pavement, screams piercing the night, a child in a purple dress clinging to an adult, whispering, “I want to go home.” Bystanders detained Lo until police arrived, arresting him on the spot. He appeared in court the next day, April 27, and remains in custody.
Investigators have ruled out terrorism, pointing instead to Lo’s documented mental health issues. The victims, aged 5 to 65, included festival-goers celebrating their culture, their names still unreleased as families mourn. Prime Minister Mark Carney, pausing his election campaign, visited the site on April 27, lighting a candle at a makeshift memorial. British Columbia Premier David Eby called the attack a tragedy born of a “profoundly ill” mind, while Vancouver’s mayor, Ken Sim, dubbed it the city’s “darkest day.”
Kai-Ji Adam Lo’s story doesn’t excuse the devastation he wrought, but it traces a path of loss and instability that began with his brother’s murder. From a grieving son to a man charged with unthinkable violence, his life unraveled in ways that left a city reeling. The facts are stark: 11 lives lost, a community in shock, and a suspect whose past was steeped in pain long before he drove into the crowd.