Teen whose family was killed at festival thanks donors, gives back

A teenager who lost his family in a ramming attack at a Vancouver festival is thanking those who donated to a fundraising campaign and says he'll give about half of the proceeds to other victims.

In a video statement on social media, 16-year-old Andy Le said he wants to thank those who donated to the GoFundMe campaign "from the bottom of my heart."

His father Richard Le, stepmother Linh Hoang and his five-year-old sister Katie Le were killed along with eight others when an SUV raced down a street lined with food trucks. 

Le's fundraising campaign raised more than $542,000, and he said he would donate $266,000 to other victims, adding that "he knows that other families are hurting too."

"I want to continue living with my grandparents who have helped raise me and truly love me. Thank you all so much for your support," said Le in the video posted late Wednesday. 

GoFundMe said in a statement that more than $2 million has been raised in separate campaigns to support those affected by the festival tragedy. 

Richard's younger brother, Toan Le, said in an earlier interview week that they learned about the family's tragedy on Sunday. 

Toan said his older brother was always there whenever he needed help. "I remember when I was a kid, I was bullied, and he stepped in, and he ended up getting beat up," he said. 

Toan described Katie as "super energetic" and having "a very lovable personality," and his sister-in-law was a dedicated mother to Katie and stepmother to Andy. 

The Les' GoFundMe campaign said Andy Le had decided to stay home to do homework on the Saturday instead of going to the Lapu Lapu Day festival with his family on Saturday. 

Both GoFundMe and the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver have been warning of fraudulent fundraising efforts by some people to make money off the tragedy by soliciting funds. 

A statement from GoFundMe said Thursday that it has removed one fundraising campaign from the platform after identifying that the story of a woman claiming she was the victim of the attack was fraudulent. 

"All donations have been refunded, and the organizer has been banned from any future fundraising. At no point did the organizer have access to the funds," said the statement. 

The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver said that it found campaigns claiming to raise money for victims' families using an image of the consulate's "official message," but it has not created or sanctioned any fundraising efforts.

The statement posted on social media on Sunday advises people looking to donate money to "exercise vigilance and prudence to avoid being victimized by unscrupulous and malicious actors attempting to exploit this tragedy."

Adam Kai-Ji Lo, 30, faces eight counts of second-degree murder, although police have said more charges may come as their investigation continues. 

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Toan Le,