The Le family lived just blocks from where the Lapu-Lapu Day festival took place in south Vancouver on Saturday. That evening, Richard Le, his wife Linh Hoang, and their five-year-old daughter Katie decided to walk to the event. Sixteen-year-old Andy, Le’s son from his first marriage, made the fateful decision to stay home that evening. “Andy was supposed to join them, but I think at the last moment he decided he wanted to stay home to finish some homework,” said Le’s younger brother, Toan Le. “The last thing that Andy received was a text from his dad at like 8:06p.m. saying don’t come any more, because it’s over and we’re going to head home.” When extended family learned about the mass casualty event at the festival, alarm struck. “My sister mentioned that they didn’t come home, so that’s when panic set in,” said Toan. The next day, the Le family learned Richard, Linh and Katie had all been killed when an SUV barreled through the crowd as the festival was winding down. The tragedy has resulted in Andy being left without his father, stepmom and little sister. “I think he’s still in a bit of a shock. He’s still trying to absorb the situation, and I don’t think he is fully comprehending what has happened,” said Toan. Andy has been taken in by his grandparents, as the Le family begins the heartbreaking task of planning three funerals. “I think we have to be strong for people who are still with us. And we always have to believe that the families who have passed are in a better place,” said Toan. Richard Le, who worked in real estate, was a tennis and badminton coach. “He spent a lot of his free time mentoring and training Andy in badminton and tennis, and he would train my son and his nieces, as well as all the kids in the community. He has been doing that for many, many years,” said Toan, who remembers Linh as a dedicated mother to both Katie and Andy. Five-year-old Katie was the light of the entire family, he said, describing her as a “very lively, cheerful person.” “There are times when she would go to my parents’ place and be the life of the party. She’s so adorable. We are going to miss her,” Toan said, through tears. He said the family is struggling to comprehend what could have compelled the suspect to drive through the crowd that had gathered on Saturday and destroy so many people’s lives. “I do understand that he has mental issues that he’s working through. It’s very hard for families to process, because of how senseless it was,” said Toan. Toan has launched a GoFundMe for the costs of the three funerals, and to help extended family care to aid in raising Andy. He said he also wants to thank first responders who rushed to the scene to help, and the nurses and doctors who tried to save the injured. “We’re just one of many, families that have been affected by this. And our heart goes out to all of them,” Toan said. “You just have to cherish your loved ones. Because life is short, and you never know what can happen.”
