Lapu Lapu festival attack suspect Adam Kai-Ji Lo gets date for judge-only trial

Vancouver Police look over a black car believed to be involved in an incident where a vehicle drove into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver on Saturday April 26, 2025. There has been a number of fatalities and numerous injuries. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Rich Lam

The trial for Adam Kai-Ji Lo, who is facing 11 counts of second-degree murder in the 2025 Lapu Lapu festival attack in Vancouver, has been set to start on April 19, 2027.

Lo has elected against facing a jury in favour of a judge-only trial in British Columbia’s Supreme Court.

The details were set at a case management conference in the same court in Vancouver on Wednesday, with the trial period scheduled to last to Aug. 25 next year.

Lo appeared at the conference via video, wearing a black short-sleeve shirt and remaining largely motionless, only responding with one-word responses and short phrases.

He is also facing 31 attempted-murder charges stemming from the April 26, 2025 attack, in which an SUV drove through the crowd at the Vancouver festival hosted by the city’s Filipino community.

A publication ban has been imposed on details of the pretrial process.

The case was moved to B.C. Supreme Court earlier this year after previously being processed by the provincial court.

A judge there had found last September that Lo was fit to stand trial, after hearing from two forensic psychiatrists.

However, the exact reasons for the fitness ruling, and details of what Lo told the doctors, cannot be published because of the bans.

A media consortium that includes The Canadian Press has challenged the publication ban, but a provincial court judge said last September that a ruling on that application has been delayed.

The attack set off changes and recommendations to improve public safety rules for festivals and community events.

The Lapu Lapu Day festival returned this April at a different location at Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre, and focused on reflection and remembrance of the victims of the attack.

This report by Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press, was first published June 10, 2026.