Collective trauma after Vancouver attack could ripple for months, experts say [Video]

Communal grief following the ramming attack at a Filipino festival in Vancouver that killed 11 people last weekend will likely persist for months, mental health experts in British Columbia warn.

“Traumatic events, grief, is not something that is resolved in a week or two weeks, or a couple of months,” said Heather Mohan, a clinical counsellor and executive director of the charity Lumara Grief and Bereavement Care Society.

Eleven people were killed and dozens more were injured when a vehicle sped through a crowded street lined with food trucks at the Lupa Lupa Day festival, sending victims flying through the air. The 30-year-old suspect faces eight counts of second-degree murder so far and police have said more charges are expected.

Such an attack, along with environmental disasters, suicide clusters and mass shootings, can trigger collective trauma, University of British Columbia sociology professor Seth Abrutyn said.

Collective trauma is the “sudden, …