On any ordinary day, the neighborhood of South Vancouver is causing the sounds of life, but on Saturday it was not an ordinary day. It was a celebration of the Philippine culture and music from a live concert reacted to the streets, as families lined up to trucks and children who played.
On Sunday he was strangely silent.
“It gives me chills,” said Franchesca Gabo, taking everything in.
Ms Gabo, 20, left the festival shortly before his driver pulled her SUV to the mass of people, killing 11 and injuring over 30.
Now, he had returned, unite an improvised vigilance of people looking over the police film and trying in vain to absorb the huge thing that had happened.
“It was a happy day yesterday,” Ms. Gabo said. “Everyone was celebrated.”
Authorities say the motive for the attack does not seem to be terrorism. But beyond this little one had emerged for the suspect in detention except that he is a 30 -year -old man with a history of mental illness. Now, he is accused of murder.
More became known about the victims at the festival celebrating Lapu Lapu.
The youngest was Katie Le, a 5 -year -old girl who was killed with her parents, Richard Le, 47, and Linh Hoang, 30, according to local news. Mr Le’s 16 -year -old son, Andy, survived a last -minute decision to miss the festival in favor of the work, relatives said.
A school council in a nearby suburb said that a guidance adviser named Kira Salim was also among the dead. “The loss of our friend and colleague has left us all shocked and broken,” he said in a statement.
And the concentration of funds began to help people get injured in the attack and repatriate the ruins of at least one victim killed.
More than 960,000 people in Canada are the Philippines, according to the government, with about half a life in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgari. In June 2023, a government report noted the strong representation of the Philippines in the fields of transactions, health care, service and business administration.
“The Philippine Canadians are one of the toughest workers in Canada,” the report said.
Many arrived in Canada through foreign workers programs, including a Live-in Caregiver program that ran between 1992 and 2014 and helped reinstall about 75,000 Philippians.
Angelo Cruz, who grew up in the neighborhood where the festival took place, said on Monday that his mother, despite having a master’s degree in science, worked as a nanny until he won a home and helping the rest of her family migrate.
“Make this sacrifice. You let you increase your child’s possible increase because you want your child to have a better life,” Mr Cruz said.
But Lapu Lapu’s day is meant to be a break from all.
“It was the one time we wanted to express ourselves and have fun – and we couldn’t get it,” said Cruz, a human resources manager who grew up in the community where the festival was held. “This was a jerk for me.”
The tip of the neighborhood was decorated with yellow, navy blue, white and red, the national colors of the Philippines, although the roads are lined with a mix of businesses and restaurants that offer not only Philippines but also Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian food.
On Sunday, Mr. Cruz and his family came out of the pin pin, a restaurant serving his traditional favorites, such as Pancit Palabok, a garlic plate and a shrimp dish, and the Philippine leaflets known as Lumpia. They then headed to the vigilance sites.
In one of them, Arturo Macapagal, a surgery nurse often in the neighborhood, took a moment to tell a quiet prayer, united with a priest.
“Every time you gather, especially the Philippine community, it is food and happiness and joy and laughter and companionship,” Mr Macapagal said.
When Prime Minister Mark Carney came to pay his respect, the crowd burst into “amazing grace”.
Through mourning, life continued.
The music rushed to the street from the Proud Pinoy Grocery Store, a node for special food products. Buyers browse the shelves that carry dried fish called Tuyo, heavy bags of jasmine and sweet corn chips. A poster advertising the Day Lapu Lapu Festival was still stuck in the door.
