Accused in Vancouver Lapu-Lapu Day festival killings grappled with family loss in months before tragedy

The Vancouver man accused of murdering eight people by driving a high-end vehicle into a crowded street celebration on Saturday night appears to have been grappling for months with the impact of his brother's alleged murder last year.

A trail of social media posts and online campaigns hint at the struggles Kai-Ji Adam Lo claimed to have endured since his brother died in what Vancouver police said at that time was the city's first homicide of 2024.

Lo has been charged with killing eight of the 11 people aged five to 65 who died after a black Audi tore into the crowd as the Lapu-Lapu Day festival drew to a close shortly after 8 p.m. Dozens more were injured.

Vancouver police have said the suspect, who has no other record of criminal charges in the provincial court database, was the subject of multiple mental health interactions with officers in the months leading up to the tragedy.

'Our reality has abruptly shifted'

Speaking to the CBC on Monday, Lo's lawyer said he wasn't in a position to confirm any of the details about his client's alleged mental health problems.

But he said he understood Lo's brother had been killed last year.

According to police reports at the time, 31-year-old Alexander Lo's body was found at home in East Vancouver early on Jan. 28, 2024. Dwight William Kematch is charged with second-degree murder in the case, and a B.C. Supreme Court trial is currently set to begin in October 2026.

An organizer named "Ad Lo" set up a GoFundMe campaign in the weeks after Alexander Lo's death titled, "In loving memory of Alexander Lo, funeral costs," raising almost $10,000 to defray the cost of his burial.

"It pains me deeply to put these words down, but my brother has been taken from us in a senseless act of violence, something we never saw coming," the post reads.

"Our reality has abruptly shifted. Despite our disagreements, the harsh truth that he's no longer with us hits me with an overwhelming force."

'Immense grief and stress'

According to property records obtained by CBC, Kai-Ji Adam Lo and his mother share an East Vancouver house a short distance away from the location where he would later be arrested by police.

The pair are also listed as debtors in relation to a 2018 Audi Q7 Progressiv.

Last August," Ad Lo" set up a second GoFundMe campaign with a picture of a woman in a hospital bed aimed at raising funds to help his mother after he claimed to have found her "unconscious in her bed." 

He cited the stress she had been under following his elder brother's death and financial woes, corroborated by a provincial court lawsuit filed against a contractor Lo and his mother allegedly hired to build a laneway house for $213,000.

"The immense grief and stress she's under have taken a significant toll," the post in the fundraising campaign reads.

"I feared I had lost the only family member I have left ... I cannot stand to see her suffer anymore, and there's nothing I can do to help her."

Both online fundraising campaigns associated with "Ad Lo" have been taken offline in the past 24 hours.

A brief court appearance

Questions swirled Monday about the mental health history police claim brought Lo onto their radar prior to his arrest.

A VPD spokesperson confirmed that Lo came into contact with police in a neighbouring jurisdiction the day before the attack, but said the encounter wasn't criminal in nature and didn't require a mental health intervention.

Meanwhile, Lo remains in Vancouver police custody pending a next court appearance on May 26.

His only appearance to date came late on Sunday through a virtual link that is used by the justice system to deal with people charged outside the court's normal working hours.

Lo sat in front of a camera in what appeared to be a white jail cell with a blue door behind him, wearing grey prison sweats, with his hands held in front of him and his head tilted slightly down.

The CBC was the only media organization dialled into the proceedings, which are covered by a publication ban.

Beyond the Crown and Lo's lawyer, the hearing was also attended by two provincial government communications officials, one of whom said he worked in "issues management" helping the province respond to "issues that might come before the public."