Festival attack suspect Adam Lo in court, as judge receives fitness assessment report

VANCOUVER — Lapu Lapu Day festival attack suspect Adam Kai-Ji Lo has appeared by video in Vancouver Provincial Court, as preparations to determine if he’s fit to stand trial continue.

Lo appeared on screen dressed in a dark blue sweatshirt as his lawyer Mark Swartz, the judge and prosecutor discussed next steps in the case, in which Lo faces second-degree murder charges over the vehicle attack that killed 11 people in April.

Judge Reg Harris says he’s received and read a mental health assessment.

Swartz told the court he would be seeking a publication ban on evidence given in a fitness hearing, which he says likely won’t occur until sometime in July.

Donnelly told the judge one of the doctors treating Lo could write an update on his condition, and Harris said it would be helpful to have the “most up-to-date perspective.”

Harris said past cases he’s been involved with demonstrated that mental health “changes and evolves, ebbs and flows dramatically.”

The brief hearing ended with the court setting June 6 as a tentative date for Lo’s next appearance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press