VANCOUVER 鈥� Shock and grief rippled through Canada's Filipino community on Sunday as members struggled to come to grips with an attack at a cultural street festival in Vancouver that killed 11 people and injuring dozens more.
Filipino BC community organizer RJ Aquino told a news briefing Sunday he's feeling numb, sad and angry after an SUV rammed the crowd at the waning moments of the Lapu Lapu Day block party on Saturday night.
"Last night was extremely difficult, and the community, we'll feel this for a long time," Aquino said Sunday.
"There are a lot of questions floating about and we don't have all the answers, but we want to tell everybody that we're grieving," Aquino said, adding the focus needs to be on providing support to victims.
The organization behind the Lapu Lapu Day event posted to Instagram to detail the "deep heartbreak" brought on by this senseless tragedy.
A statement from Filipino BC encouraged members of the community to check in on one another and 鈥渉old each other鈥� through this tragedy, and provided contact information for victim services and mental health support.
The group also discouraged people from viewing or sharing the videos from the violent attack.
Provincial legislator Mable Elmore, who is of Filipino heritage, said Sunday during a news briefing with Aquino that the community is heartbroken about the attack that occurred steps away from her office.
"My message to everyone, to those in the Filipino community, in the broader community, we're in incredible pain," she said through tears.
"The Filipino community will show true resilience and we will come together out of this catastrophe with the support and love from the broad community, from all of you in the public across British Columbia and around the world who have expressed support."
Hundreds of members from the Filipino community attended a vigil at St. Mary the Virgin church in Vancouver Sunday.
Many attendees could be seen with tears in their eyes, giving each other hugs and pats on the shoulder.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Facebook on Sunday he is 鈥渟hattered鈥� to hear about the tragedy at the Lapu Lapu event.
The president said his government and country's residents are one with the families of the victims and Vancouver鈥檚 Filipino community.
More than 957,000 Canadians identified as having Filipino roots as of Statistics Canada's 2021 census, including more than 757,000 people who were born in the Philippines and immigrated to Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2025.
鈥� By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax.
With files from Nono Shen in Vancouver.
The Canadian Press
