A London Police van outside the apartment building that Nathaniel Veltman lived in. Photo via Manisha Krishnan.
The man charged with the murder of four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario, is now facing terrorism charges.Federal prosecutor Sarah Shaikh revealed the charges during a brief court appearance Monday morning. Nathaniel Veltman also appeared before the court, emotionless with his hands clasped in front of him. The 20-year-old also is facing four charges of first-degree murder and one charge of attempted murder.Veltman is alleged to have intentionally run down a Muslim family who were waiting at a London intersection on June 6. Salman Afzaal, 46, Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna, and Salman’s 74-year-old mother, Talat, were killed. The youngest in the family, Fayez, 9, is currently recovering in hospital.“Based on information collected during the course of the investigation we believe this was an intentional act and that the victims of this horrific incident were targeted,” London Police Chief Steve Williams said during a press conference last week. “We believe they were targeted for their Islamic faith.”
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A man who knew a witness to Veltman’s arrest said that the young man was laughing as he was being taken into custody. Police have still yet to provide the public with any sort of evidence regarding why they consider the killings “hate-motivated.” When asked by VICE World News, London Police said they could not comment on the evidence as the “matter is before the courts.”Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had previously described the killings as terrorism.“Their lives were taken in a brutal, cowardly, brazen act of violence,” said Trudeau in a House of Commons speech last week. “This killing was no accident. This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities."Terrorism related charges in have mostly been reserved for Islamist attacks, something Canadian authorities have been heavily criticized over, particuarly in the cases of the Toronto van attack and the Quebec City mosque shootings. However, that seems to have been changing. Terrorism-related charges were filed against a young man who killed a woman with a machete in a Toronto massage parlour last year, he is believed to be connected to the incel subculture. Follow Mack Lamoureux on Twitter.
