Man accused of ramming a car into Filipino festival in Vancouver found mentally fit to stand trial

Audio By Carbonatix

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A Canadian judge ruled Wednesday that the man accused of killing 11 people by ramming his sport utility vehicle into a crowd during a Filipino heritage festival is mentally fit to stand trial.

Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, faces multiple counts of second-degree murder in the tragedy that struck the Lapu Lapu Day Street festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, on April 26. Dozens of people were also injured.

Police said Wednesday that Lo has been charged with 31 additional counts of attempted murder.

“He’s able to conduct his defense,” said Provincial Court Judge Reg Harris in announcing his decision. “He knows the nature and the consequences of the proceedings. He is able and willing to communicate with his lawyer.”

Harris made his ruling after listening to legal arguments from defense lawyer Mark Swartz and Crown prosecutor Michaela Donnelly. Two forensic psychiatrists were called as expert witnesses during the fitness hearings held in the past two months.

Appearing via video link from a forensic psychiatric facility, Lo wore a blue sweatshirt and occasionally rubbed his eyes as he looked into the camera.

Harris ordered Lo remain at the facility.

Isabel Grant, a professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said Lo’s defense attorney can still argue he is not criminally responsible (NCR), even though he was found fit to stand trial.

“They are looking at two different things and they are looking at two different points in time,” said Grant.

“Fitness is looking at...his mental state at the time of the trial and whether he is able to participate in his trial. NCR is looking at his mental state at the time of the crimes. Did he appreciate the consequences of his actions, that driving into a group of people was going to cause their deaths. Did he know that driving into these victims was something that society would think he ought not to do.”

Kristina Corpin-Moser, executive director of Filipino BC, a nonprofit that seeks to foster Filipino Canadian heritage, welcomed the decision.

“I think this is a ruling that many in the community were hoping for,” Corpin-Moser said outside the courthouse. “It brings a great deal of relief."

Vancouver Chief Constable Steve Rai said the additional 31 charges were in relation to the surviving victims of the attack.

“This is another step towards answers and accountability in one of the most horrific incidents our city has ever faced,” Rai said in a news release.