A vigil will be held in Red Deer on May 4 for those who died or were injured after a man drove an SUV into a crowd of people celebrating the Lapu Lapu Day festival in Vancouver on Saturday night.
Vancouver Police said 11 people, aged 5 to 65, were killed, and more than two dozen others were injured.
Vigil organizer Christian (Chris Rod) Rodriguez said different Filipino communities, organizations and leaderships across Canada are coming together to show support to the victims and their families.
"These festivals have been going on for so many years, and all of a sudden for this thing to happen, we are lost for words in so many ways," said Rodriguez, a director with the Canadian Filipino National Congress.
"It has really been a blow, a shock, to the different Filipino communities all over Alberta as well."
He said efforts will be made to access more information about the victims from community leaders in Vancouver and ways to provide financial support.
Organized by Rodriguez, the public prayer vigil will be held at 5 p.m. outside City Hall.
Vancouver Police said a 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene after bystanders and witnesses intervened to detain him. Kai-Ji Adam Lo has appeared in court and remains in custody. He was initially charged with eight counts of second degree murder, but further charges are anticipated.
Rodriguez, an event organizer with G.K.M. Events Management, said he learned about the tragedy while hosting a Filipino event in Calgary on Saturday where everyone was shaken by the news.
As the organizer of Red Deer's first annual Filipino Food and Music festival held last August, Rodriguez said he is meeting with his team next week to discuss security.
This year the festival will be held at Capstone where roads will blocked off to vehicle traffic, but there probably will be more security measures in place, he added.
