A Canadian man accused of murdering a Muslim family in a truck attack has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
The suspect, 22-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, is accused of intentionally targeting the Muslim family with his vehicle because of their faith in the incident in 2021. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Muslim Family Massacre Trial
The jury selection for the case trial had already started, and the suspect stood silent in court. Veltman's murder charges include terrorism counts, meaning prosecutors must prove that his actions were intended, deliberate, and motivated by a political, religious, or ideological cause.
The massacre left three generations of the Afzaal family dead, leaving only one survivor. Salman Afzaal, 46 years old, and his wife, Madiha Salman, 44 years old, their daughter, Yumna Afzaal, 15 years old, and the husband's mother, Talat Afzaal, 74 years old, were all killed in the incident. The family was on an evening walk on June 6, 2021, as the couple's nine-year-old son was seriously injured but survived, as per BBC.
A relative said that the couple had traveled to Canada from Pakistan, looking for a better future for their family. Shortly after the incident that killed almost all of the family members, authorities arrested Veltman in a parking lot close to London's oldest mosque, where the Afzaal family were devoted members.
The suspect in the attack was wearing what appeared to be body armor and a helmet, said police authorities. The incident sent waves of grief and fear across the North American country as London's tight-knit Muslim community mourned the loss of the Afzaal family.
With the jury selection ongoing, the chair of the London Council of Imams, Abd Alfatah Twakkal, spoke outside the court. He said that Sept. 6, 2023, is exactly the 27th month since the death of the Afzaal family, which marked a tragedy for the Muslim community in London.
Charges of Murder
Defense lawyer Christopher Hicks stood beside Veltman in court as the court registrar read the charges against his client. He then pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder on behalf of the suspect, according to Yahoo News.
Last year, Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance ruled that a change of venue was warranted in the case, which led to it being moved from London to Windsor, Ontario. Due to a publication ban, the reasons for that decision and the evidence and arguments presented in court cannot be disclosed.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, the National Council of Canadian Muslims advocacy group said they would watch Veltman's trial very closely. Shaukat Rizvi, a relative of the Afzaal family, said that justice should be served. He added that they had confidence in the Canadian justice system.
The massacre of the Afzaal family shook the Muslim community that was still reeling in the aftermath of a deadly assault on a Quebec City mosque in 2017. Aljazeera said it also comes after a fatal stabbing in 2020 at a different Mosque in Toronto.
