Toronto's Filipino community in shock after 11 killed at Vancouver cultural festival
CBC
Charmaine Ramirez and David Candelaria say they were walking down Fraser Street in Vancouver Saturday evening, having just taken down their table at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival, when they got a call.
It was a friend, who was also in town from Toronto for the festival. He was calling from a block away on 43rd Avenue, asking them if they were OK and telling them what he'd just seen.
The driver of a black SUV had just driven into a crowd on the street he was calling from. Though it was unclear in the moment, the incident killed 11 people, ranging in age from five to 65. Dozens of others were injured.
"We were in shock," Ramirez told CBC Toronto Monday, one day after they'd returned from Vancouver.
"We're heartbroken coming back home after what was supposed to be such a great celebration," she said. "We just couldn't believe that after such a great day, that something like that could happen."
The pair are among the thousands in Toronto's Filipino community mourning the tragedy at the Vancouver street festival celebrating Filipino culture in the city.
They say they'd just left the festival minutes before, as the thinning crowd enjoyed the last of the music and sunshine.
"We were there throughout the whole day, and it could have been anyone," Candelaria said. "So we just felt lucky that we were safe, but also, extremely sad that it was happening, and it was so many people that were affected."
In Toronto, home to Canada's largest Filipino community, the distance didn't lessen the impact of the alleged attack.
Lynnel Demaala says she woke up Sunday morning to a message from family in Australia asking what had happened, before attending a sombre church service where the pastor led a prayer for the victims.
"It's really tragic, it's really sad," she said. "I'm still confused and in disbelief about it."
Omer Tolentino says he's worried about the safety of the Filipino community around Canada.
"Is that a hate crime? That's the first thing [that] came to my mind," he said.
Police say Kai-Ji Adam Lo, who was arrested for the alleged attack and now faces murder charges, has a history of interactions with law enforcement and mental health workers, and they are not investigating the incident as a hate crime.
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