Three members of family from Colombia died in B.C. festival attack, says son

Family from Colombia killed

Photo: The Canadian Press

Alejandro Samper, left to right, his sister Glitza Daniela Samper, his mother Glitza Maria Caicedo and his father Daniel Samper are shown in this undated handout photo. Alejandro Samper says he lost his mother, father and sister in the attack on the Lapu Lapu Day festival. The three members of a family of Colombian immigrants have been identified among the 11 people killed in Saturday's vehicle attack in Vancouver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Alejandro Samper

Alejandro Samper was getting ready for work on Saturday night when he received a call from his sister's fiance about a "terrible accident," and he rushed to the scene of the Lapu Lapu Day festival in Vancouver.

He soon learned that his sister Glitza Daniela Samper, his mother Glitza Maria Caicedo and his father Daniel Samper had been hit by a vehicle that rampaged through the crowd at the Filipino cultural event.

He said his sister was brought to Vancouver General Hosptial where she passed away early Sunday, and both his parents had been killed and he is yet to be allowed to see their bodies.

"I'm just destroyed," Samper said Tuesday. "My whole world's taken away from me."

Police have charged a 30-year-old man with eight counts of murder and say more charges will likely come. Eleven people were killed and about three dozen were sent to hospitals around the Lower Mainland.

Samper said the family came to Canada in the early 2000s, in part to escape the violence in Colombia, and he's now trying to understand what happened and why.

"My parents sacrificed everything in Colombia, their careers, their lifestyle, everything to give us a better future here in Canada," he said. "It just doesn't make any sense. Canada is supposed to be a safe place."

Samper said he's been left with "many questions" about what happened, and wonders why the festival didn't have barricades like other events, noting that he was at a Vaisakhi event the previous week where protective measures were taken.

He said his parents were the "nicest people" who helped many others, and the family was "very, very close."

"They won't let us see the bodies because everything's under investigation," he said. "So, I never even got to say goodbye to my parents."

He said he's been dealing with a "bombardment" of phone calls about the tragedy, and believes it's important to speak out because "we need to get this message across, like, it's unacceptable this was allowed to happen."

"Where's the security? Where were the police when this happened? Also, like the social system, I heard this person that killed everyone, you know, had a very tragic life."

The brother of another family identified them as victims this week. Toan Le said his brother, Richard Le, Le's wife Linh Hoang and their five-year-old daughter Katie were all killed in Saturday's attack.