Murder charges have been laid against the man accused of driving an SUV into a crowd celebrating at a Filipino community street festival Saturday.

The attack killed 11 people, the youngest of whom was only five years old.

The suspect, 30-year-old Vancouver resident Kai-Ji Adam Lo, has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder. Charge assessment is ongoing and police expect more to be approved.

Lo was charged Sunday morning and remains in custody.

The Vancouver Police Department provided an update on the devastating incident Sunday, calling it the “darkest day in our city’s history.”

At a news conference later in the afternoon, police said the people who died were between the ages of five and 65.

Interim Chief Const. Steve Rai said it’s possible the death toll will rise further in the coming days.

“It’s impossible to overstate how many lives have been impacted forever,” Rai said, adding that dozens were hospitalized with serious injuries.

“This is a tragedy the likes of which the city has never experienced before,” he said.

Rai said police are still trying to ascertain the motive, but are confident it was not an act of terrorism. He added there isn’t believed to be any ongoing threat.

“The driver of the vehicle was the lone occupant, and he was arrested at the crime scene by members of the Vancouver Police Department after bystanders and witnesses intervened to detain him,” Rai said.

“I can tell you that the person we have in custody does have a significant history of interactions with police and health-care professionals related to mental health.”

The event drew tens of thousands of people to the streets of South Vancouver to celebrate Lapu-Lapu Day.

Lapu-Lapu is an Indigenous leader of the Philippines, famous for his resistance against Spanish colonization and for winning the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521.

The B.C. government proclaimed April 27 to be Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, and the group Filipino B.C. began organizing the annual Vancouver block party last year.

The interim chief said he knows one of the questions at the forefront of people’s minds is whether anything could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

Rai said the City of Vancouver and police conducted a joint risk assessment prior to the event and decided that “dedicated police officers and heavy vehicle barricades would not be deployed at the festival site.”

Nevertheless, he said he is confident the safety plan was “sound.”