We must “continue to wrap our arms around” the Filipino community as it deals with the burden of the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy that killed 11 people, British Columbia legislator Mable Elmore said on Monday.
Elmore received a standing ovation on her first day back in the legislature since the April 26 attack when an SUV plowed through a crowd of festivalgoers in the Vancouver-Kensington riding she represents.
She told her colleagues that people who are suffering have summoned courage and are turning sadness and despair into love and meaning.
“The unimaginable tragedy that struck after the Lapu Lapu festival reminds us about our shared humanity. It reminds that our humanity is all too fragile and how life is but a moment that may be gone the next,” she said.
“But there is hope, because the tragedy also demonstrates that our humanity is resilient, we will heal, we will rise and we will emerge stronger.”
Elmore, who became B.C’s first MLA of Filipino heritage in 2009, said she is proud of the leadership and response from the Filipino community, which has created an emergency task force.
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“I want to acknowledge the outpouring of support from across British Columbia, Canada and around the world for this tragedy. It’s meant everything to support the families, the victims and the community, and everybody impacted.”
She said the community is working with partners across the province to provide care for those in need.
“My request is for all of us to continue to wrap our arms around the community, all the victims, everyone who’s left with a heavy burden, to continue to stand together, and a reminder that in the darkest of times, the light of solidarity shines bright.”
Elmore was at the festival last month and was on the scene after the suspect was apprehended by bystanders. Videos on social media show her standing next to the accused as an angry crowd shouts abuse at him.
In an interview following her speech in the legislature, Elmore was reluctant to talk about the specifics of that moment in the middle of an ongoing police investigation.
“It’s just a devastating incident—the loss of life, the injury, the heartbreak in the community, is just unimaginable,” she said.
“Not only to the people who lost their lives. I’ve been visiting families in the hospital, and the impact and the trauma right across the whole community in south Vancouver is just immeasurable.”
The suspect in the case, 30-year-old Adam Kai-Ji Lo, is facing eight charges of second-degree murder, and police have said more are expected.
He appeared by video in Vancouver provincial court on Friday, when a judge ordered a mental health assessment to make sure he was fit for trial.
Lo’s next court appearance has been set for May 30.
A memorial to those killed and hurt grows daily near the crash site, with bouquets of flowers, potted plants, wreaths, candles, stuffed animals and notes of prayer and remembrance piling along every side of the fence surrounding a nearby secondary school and its sports fields.
Sharon Dusangh grew up in the area and on Monday she returned to lay flowers along the fence of John Oliver Secondary, her former high school.
She said she felt “sadness, heartbreak, devastation” when she heard about the attack.
“You never thought anything like that would happen, never.”
She visited the memorial site with Laura Uppal, who also grew up in the area.
“We don’t live in the neighbourhood anymore, but her brother does, my mom does, and like, I want to cry, because this is our stomping ground,” Uppal said.
“I didn’t think it would ever happen to our neighbourhood.”
Dusangh, who now lives in Chicago, said she felt “a lot of pride” seeing the outpouring of community grief and support at the memorial.
Judi Fung was also among the steady stream of visitors to site on Monday. She said she had been thinking about the attack and its victims all week, and a gift of forget-me-not flowers from a friend had prompted her to drive across the city to pay her respects in person.
“I was just going to plant them, and then a couple days after, it just dawned on me, forget-me-nots. They shouldn’t be forgotten,” she said of those killed.
Fung had tears in her eyes and said she felt a wave of emotion when she placed the plant next to a raised flower bed installed to honour the victims. She had a vision, she said, of the delicate blue flowers growing all over the street where the “horrendous” attack occurred.
“Seeing the people and the outpouring of grief and compassion, it just made me think … we are here together,” she said.
