Family of Vancouver Festival driver, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, tried committing murder suspect to psych ward before Lapu Lapu attack amid deteriorating mental health, paranoia and delusions after his brother was murdered and his mother attempting suicide.
The family of the mentally unhinged driver who allegedly plowed into a Filipino festival, killing at least 11 and injuring dozens others at a Vancouver block party, Saturday night had tried to commit the SUV driver to a psych ward, literally just hours before the Lapu Lapu tragedy.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, a Vancouver, Canada native who reportedly descended into a deep depression and mental episodes following the shooting death of his brother last year currently faces eight counts of second-degree murder.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo escalating mental health struggles
Lo was is reported to have been known to mental health care officials along with police before he carried out the deadly attack on the Filipino community, Vancouver police said. Lo has a history of mental health struggles, and a family member had even contacted a hospital psychiatric unit seeking help for Lo amid the man’s ‘deteriorating’ mental health, just hours before the attack, sources told the Vancouver Sun.
It is believed Lo was suffering from paranoia and delusions. Police also said they had prior interactions with Lo and some of those were recent. It’s not known what action, if any, was taken on behalf of Lo.
It’s thought the suspect’s mental struggles surfaced following the slaying of his brother, 31-year-old Alexander Lo, who was found deceased in a home on Knight Street and East 33rd Avenue on January 28, 2024.
39-year-old Dwight William Kematch was arrested and charged with Second-Degree Murder in that case.
A fundraiser at the time raised just over $9,340 CAD.
Wrote Adam Lo in part, ‘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.
Vancouver festival murder suspect dealt with brother’s murder and mom’s attempted suicide
‘Our reality has abruptly shifted. Despite our disagreements, the harsh truth that he’s no longer with us hits me with an overwhelming force.’
Months later in August, his mother reportedly attempted suicide and was in the hospital for a month. Adam also set up a fundraiser for his grieving mother to help her remain at home following the attempt on her own life.
‘The unimaginable grief brought upon my mother is something that is worse than my own sadness. For she brought him into this world, only for him to leave abruptly, it is a sadness I cannot being to express,’ he said. ‘She lost a son already and is on the verge of losing her home. This has driven her to attempt to take her own life.’
An online court database indicated that Lo had no prior criminal record.
Personal property records show that both the accused killer and his mother were registered owners of a 2018 Audi Q7 SUV like the one used in the deadly rampage along East 43rd Avenue Saturday that left victims between five and 65 dead.
Police said they’ve had significant interactions with Lo — as did health care professionals — due to his mental health issues. Some were recent.
