BURST
Accused mass murderer Kai-ji Adam Lo went to the Richmond RCMP the day before 11 people were killed at a Filipino street festival and claimed someone was throwing things into his SUV, Postmedia has learned.
An officer went outside with him and looked in the back of the black Audi, which was used in the mass murder the next day. There was nothing inside.
Lo then drove off and the Mountie made an entry into the police computer system known as PRIME.
Asked about Lo’s interaction with Richmond RCMP, Cpl. Adriana O’Malley said in an email that she would not provide information “due to privacy reasons.”
Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Addison said Tuesday that officers only became aware of the April 25 interaction with police after the SUV plowed through a crowd at the Lapu Lapu festival off Fraser Street just after 8 p.m. Saturday, injuring and killing dozens of people.
Addison said investigators ran the suspect’s name through the PRIME database and got a hit for the April 25 incident.
Addison has said the VPD had many non-criminal interactions with Lo prior to the mass murder. But he said he couldn’t provide more details about the time frame in which those contacts occurred.
Lo has now been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder, but more charges are anticipated.
Postmedia reported Sunday that Lo’s spiralling mental health led a family member to contact a psychiatric facility hours before the deadly rampage.
Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed Tuesday that Lo was under the care of a mental health team and on leave from hospital at the time of Saturday’s deadly festival attack in southeast Vancouver.
In a statement, the health authority offered “its deepest condolences to the victims of the Lapu Lapu Day Festival, their families and the entire Filipino community during this incredibly challenging time.”
“VCH can confirm the alleged driver of the vehicle was under the care of a mental health team and on extended leave in accordance with the Mental Health Act,” the statement said.
“Extended leave is intended to help clients maintain their treatment plans while transitioning back to community for ongoing support.”
The health authority statement claims “the care team followed established guidelines for a client on extended leave, and there was no indication this person was not following their treatment plan or presented a public safety risk.”
Postmedia asked for more information from VCH, but it refused to provide answers.
Subject 37 of the B.C. Mental Health Act says that if a “director considers that leave would benefit a patient detained in the designated facility, the director may release the patient on leave from the designated facility providing appropriate support exists in the community to meet the conditions of the leave.”
But the act also says that the person can be detained again if the conditions of their release in the community are not being met.
Neither police nor health care officials would comment on whether Lo was supposed to be driving in the vehicle he co-owned with his mother Lisa, given his fragile mental state.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and interim police chief Steve Rai called for action Wednesday to deal with the province’s mental health crisis that has resulted in a number of high-profile incidents of violence even prior to the Lapu Lapu festival attack.
More to come …
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