Motorist plows into crowd in Vancouver: suspect with “long record” charged with eight murders

The suspect in a ram-car attack that killed 11 people and injured dozens at a festival in Vancouver's Filipino community has been charged with murder, police announced Sunday.
 

“British Columbia prosecutors have charged Kai-Ji Adam Lo”, the 30-year-old suspect, ‘with eight counts of murder’, police said in a statement, adding that further charges were expected.  
 

The man identified as a Vancouver resident, who appeared in court before being taken into custody, acted deliberately and has a history of mental disorder, according to police. No motive has been confirmed for the attack, which took place on Saturday evening in the western city of Vancouver. Police have ruled out terrorism as the country is in the midst of an election campaign.  
The suspect has “a long history of interactions, with police and caregivers, related to mental health,” said Steve Rai, a senior Vancouver police official, at a press conference on Sunday. “While I cannot comment at this stage on a possible motive, I can now confidently say that the elements of this case do not lead us to believe that this was a terrorist act,” he added.  
 

“There are now 11 confirmed deaths, and we believe dozens more are injured, some seriously,” continued Steve Rai, warning that the death toll could rise. “This is the darkest day in Vancouver's history,” he said.  
  

The attack, described as a “nightmare” by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday morning, comes during the country's final weekend of election campaigning.    
  

Canadians go to the polls on Monday for a general election. Mr. Carney, who sees himself as a bulwark against the U.S. president, is the favorite in the polls. He changed the schedule for his last day of campaigning because of the attack in Vancouver. Numerous Asian communities, notably Chinese, Indian and Filipino, live in Western Canada, many around Vancouver, the country's third-largest metropolitan area.