Eby warns against jumping to conclusions about Lapu-Lapu suspect's care before alleged attack

B.C. Premier David Eby says there's a disconnect between health authorities' claims that the suspect in the alleged Vancouver festival attack had no history of violence and the reality of what unfolded.

But speaking at a news conference Monday, he added that people shouldn't jump to the conclusion that those involved in the care of Kai-Ji Adam Lo did anything wrong.

He noted that the province is committed to a full public inquiry to answer those questions if they are not addressed at a criminal trial. 

The call for caution comes after Eby was criticized last week for making an angry statement in the legislature about the accused, calling him a murderer who "should spend the rest of his God damned life in jail."

Eby was asked at an unrelated news conference on Monday if Lo should have been receiving a higher level of mental health care ahead of the attack.

Inquiry to follow criminal process

"These questions will be asked at least once, maybe twice, tested under cross-examination, and we'll make the conclusions from that as a province and ensure that we act accordingly," Eby said. 

"It'll be a long process. We can't do the public inquiry while the criminal process is underway, but as soon as we have the opportunity to get those answers, we will."

Lo, 30, is facing numerous second-degree murder charges after 11 people were killed when an SUV plowed through the Lapu-Lapu Day street festival in Vancouver on April 26. 

He's set to appear in court at the end of May, when a judge-ordered fitness assessment will be presented to determine if he is fit to stand trial. 

Lo had received mental health care from a Vancouver Coastal Health team and Eby said the authority described Lo as compliant with his medication and having no history of violence.

"These are disconnected from the reality — certainly that we saw in terms of this individual's actions," Eby said. "So, those questions are going to get asked through the criminal justice system process."

If the answers don't come there, Eby said, the inquiry will ask them. 

Law association criticizes Eby

"What were this individual's interactions with the system? Was there an opportunity to intervene earlier, without assuming that the individuals involved in this person's care did anything wrong?"

Eby gave a lengthy denunciation of the suspect in the legislature in the week after the attack, saying that in his opinion, Lo was a murderer who "made the decision to drive a vehicle into a crowd of children, parents, and seniors, volunteers, [and] kill them." 

His comments were criticized by the B.C. branch of the Canadian Bar Association, which said it was deeply concerning that Eby would express such opinions before a fair trial could take place.

Eby, who is a lawyer and worked for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association before entering politics, apologized for using "intemperate language" in the legislature after his comments. 

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma said last week that she spoke to Eby about the comments, noting the need to "be cautious when we're speaking about a matter before the courts."

"He respects the independence of the judiciary, and he expects the independence of our legal system," Sharma said of Eby's response to her. "Going forward, I think we're all focused on being there for the community and being there for the people who are still really reeling from what happened in the community."

When asked if she thought Eby's comments were appropriate, Sharma said everyone has had emotional responses to the tragedy at the Lapu-Lapu festival, and it does not change the province's respect for the courts.

"It's been a really hard week," she said of the reactions to the attack and its victims. 

"These are people that we know, that have suffered in the Lapu-Lapu festival, that are really feeling it, that are feeling the trauma.… I don't think you can expect that we wouldn't have an emotional reaction as politicians.

"I have it. Everybody has it."