Filipino groups ‘heartbroken’ as they grieve Vancouver victims of attack that killed 11

Filipino groups in Edmonton held a vigil on Wednesday to honour the victims of the van attack at the Lapu Lapu street festival in Vancouver.

Edmonton Filipino groups held a vigil at city hall late this afternoon to honour the victims of the Vancouver vehicle attack.

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Organizers say while the attack happened in the B.C. city, Filipinos in Edmonton and across Canada are heartbroken and grieving.

“It’s really tragic to be gathering for this reason,” Harlijk Mirasol of the Alberta Philippine Heritage Society told media outside city hall.

“It’s painful, especially for us at the events and in the community … to have this happen affects all of us.”

A 30-year-old man allegedly drove an SUV through a crowd at a Filipino street festival last Saturday, killing 11 people and injuring dozens of others.

He is facing eight counts of first-degree murder.

Some of the victims include a Vancouver father, mother and their five-year-old daughter and three members of a Colombian family. Each family leaves behind a son who didn’t attend the festival.

Vancouver police say 10 people remain in hospital – seven are in critical condition and three are in serious condition, including a 22-month-old boy.

An organizer said the Edmonton vigil was part of a simultaneous Canada-wide event that also included Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti