‘I don’t want people to forget’: Man who lost parents and sister at Lapu Lapu Festival honouring their legacy

A man who lost both of his parents and his sister in the devastating attack at a Vancouver street festival is sharing his story.

Twenty-five years ago, Daniel Samper and Glitza Caicedo left Colombia with their two young children and moved to Canada, eventually settling in North Vancouver.

“They decided to come here to give us a better future, more freedom,” said their son Alejandro Samper. “They also loved participating in cultural events in Vancouver.”

Samper was working the evening of April 26, so he couldn’t join his mom, dad and sister at the Lapu Lapu Festival, a celebration of Filipino culture. Just after 8 p.m., he got a phone call from his sister’s fiancé who had gone with them.

“He was telling me get over here as soon as possible, your parents, your sister, they’re injured. But he didn’t really specify how severe they were injured. I couldn’t believe it, I was very confused,” said Samper.

He raced to the scene, but could not get past police tape. He learned his sister Glitza was taken to hospital with a head injury, and got there as doctors were fighting to save her life.

“It was a very sad moment to see my sister so severely injured and literally die in front of my eyes,” said Samper.

For the next several hours, extended family fanned out across Metro Vancouver visiting hospitals to look for Alejandro’s parents. It was victims services that eventually told him what happened.

“We found out that they were transported to a funeral home. So I assume they died instantly on impact,” Samper said.

‘Void in my heart’

Having lost three members of his immediate family, the 34-year-old is leaning on his extended family and friends to process the unimaginable grief.

“I will forever miss them. This void in my heart will always be there. But with the community support, my other family and friends, with all the love they’ve given me, it’s helping me fill it up with a lot of love and compassion,” Samper said, adding that when he has moments of wanting to give up, he thinks of his parents and sister.

“I just think of how would they want me to think, what would they want me to do,” he said. “My family’s teachings of love, forgiveness and faith and compassion has given me a lot of strength to not be angry or explosive or destructive.”

Plans to launch foundation

He’s channeling his grief into plans for a foundation in the name of his parents and sister. A GoFundMe has just been launched to raise money for the project.

“I don’t want people to forget, and I don’t want to forget them. So, by helping others with their name, I hope to always have them alive in my mind, in my heart,” said Samper.

Samper remembers his father Daniel as hard working, brilliant and compassionate.

“He was my hero. I really looked up to him, how much patience he had with me. I wasn’t an easy kid to raise, and no matter what, he would always give love and support,” he said.

His mom Glitza was the heart of the family; generous and joyful with a deep love for community in both Canada and Colombia.

“She was a very inspiring woman. She had the most beautiful smile. Everyone she met, she touched their hearts,” said Samper.

His sister Glitza shared their mom’s love for art, and for animals. She made friends easily and always saw the beauty around her.

“There’s times where I forget what happened and I want to tell my sister, I want to share something, and she’s not there. And then reality hits really, really hard,” said Samper. “To die that tragic, that fast, I didn’t even get to say goodbye. It was very heartbreaking.”

Through his grief, Samper is determined not to carry hate in his heart for the man charged with multiple counts of murder in the attack that left his family and eight others dead at the Lapu Lapu Festival. He said his mother would urge understanding.

“It was so inspiring to see her forgiving people,” Samper said.

“Hate and resentment consumes you, it’s poison to the soul. So that is why I’m choosing the harder path, which is love and compassion and helping others. And this is how I will carry my family’s legacy.”