A racist driver reportedly violently plowed his pickup truck into a Muslim family of five, killing four and seriously injuring one, in Canada on Sunday, June 6.
The driver has been identified as 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, hailing from London, Ontario. Veltman has reportedly been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one attempted murder in connection with the case.
His black pickup truck reportedly mounted a curb and struck the victims at an intersection Sunday evening, The Guardian reported. Authorities describe the horrifying incident as “a premeditated attack.” Veltman was arrested in the parking lot of a nearby mall after fleeing from the scene.
A grandmother, 74, mother, 44, father, 46, and their teenage daughter, 15, were reportedly killed during the horrifying incident.
A nine-year-old boy is the sole survivor of the crash. He remains in the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The victims’ extended family has requested the victims' names be withheld from the public.
Steve Williams, London Police Service Chief, said law enforcement “believe [the attack] was an intentional act” and that “the victims were particularly targeted because of their Islamic faith.” Williams added that Veltman was wearing a “body armor-like” vest when police apprehended him, WAtoday reported.
Veltman reportedly has no previous criminal history. However, police have not confirmed whether he was a member of any existing hate groups. Williams said that they are investigating the possibility of terrorism charges against the assailant and that federal authorities have been called in to assist in the investigation.
About a dozen police officers reportedly stormed the crash site and the areas surrounding looking for evidence on Monday, June 7.
“This was an act of mass murder perpetrated against Muslims. It was rooted in unspeakable hatred. The magnitude of such hatred can make one question who we were as a city,” said London Mayor Ed Holder.
Paige Martin, a woman who witnessed the aftermath of the crash, said that she couldn't stop thinking about the victims.
"I can't get the sound of the screams out of my head," Martin said.
Martin reportedly said that she saw the crash scene from her apartment room and expressed that she saw an official drape a sheet over one of the bodies around midnight.
"My heart is just so broken for them," she said.
"They were just out for their walk like they would go out for every day. I just wanted to see," Zahid Khan, a family friend of the victims’ said, as he cried.
The attack was the worst attack against Canadian Muslims since 2017 when a man gunned down six members of a Quebec City mosque.
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