Muslim Family Killed in ‘Hate-Motivated’ Attack, Canadian Police Say

Four pedestrians are dead after a man allegedly intentionally drove his truck into a Muslim family he saw waiting at an intersection in London, Ontario, in what police are calling a hate-motivated attack. 

A girl, 15, woman, 74, man, 46, and a woman, 44, were killed when a man ran them down in a black pickup truck Sunday night, local police said.  A 9-year-old boy sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries. Police said those killed were all members of the same family, and that family members have requested their names not be released. 

At a press release Monday afternoon, police said that they believe the crimes to be hate-motivated.

“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,” said London Police Chief Steve Williams during a Monday press conference. “We believe they were targeted for their Islamic faith.”

Nathaniel Veltman, 20, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

“A black pickup truck occupied by a lone male… mounted the curb and hit the five victims waiting to cross the intersection,” said London Police Detective Paul Waight. “The pickup truck continued down the road at a high rate of speed. There is evidence that this was a planned premeditated attack motivated by hate.”

Waight said that the suspect eventually stopped in a mall parking lot 7 kilometres away from the scene. Police arrested the man in the parking lot without incident.

On Monday afternoon the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) called it a “terrorist attack.”  

“A man allegedly got in his car, saw a Muslim family walking down the street, and made the decision that they do not deserve to live," said Mustafa Farooq, the CEO of NCCM. “He did not know them. This is a terrorist attack on Canadian soil, and should be treated as such. We call on the government to prosecute the attacker to the fullest extent of the law, including considering terrorist charges." 

Ed Holder, the mayor of London, Ontario, called the attack “unspeakable” and said, “Let me be clear. This was an act of mass murder perpetrated against Muslims.” 

Canada has experienced a number of racist or hate-motivated attacks in recent years. In 2017, a 27-year-old man walked into a Quebec City mosque and killed six worshippers and injured six more. In 2018, a man drove a van through crowds of pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 and injuring 16 more. Police say that the killer was motivated by a misogynistic ideology based around the incel community. And recently there has been a spate of attacks in Edmonton against Muslim women.

"Muslims in Canada have become all too familiar with the violence of Islamophobia, with attacks on Muslim women in Alberta, the IMO mosque killing, and the Quebec City mosque massacre,” said Farooq. “But this loss of a family, the loss of a child in our community because of Islamophobia—this is a sorrow that will run deep for a long time. But let that sorrow be the ground where we stand for justice, and stand for change.” 

Breaking. More details to follow.