On June 6, 2021, a man rammed a

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

into

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Pakistani Canadian , image = , pop = ''303,260'' (0.81%) , popplace = , region1 = , pop1 = 212,650 , region2 = , pop2 = 39,535 , region3 = , pop3 = 16,645 ...

pedestrians at an

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

in London, Ontario, Canada. Four people were killed, and another was wounded; all were from the same family. Police say the attack was motivated by Islamophobia. The attack was the deadliest mass killing in London's history. It was condemned by Canadian leaders, and called terrorism by Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

Doug Ford. The suspect was charged with four counts of terroristic

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and one count of terroristic

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

Attack

At about 8:40 pm on June 6, 2021, a man mounted a curb and drove his

into five members of a family. According to police, this attack was intentional, and motivated by anti-Muslim hatred. The attack took place at the intersection of Hyde Park Road and South Carriage Road in London's Hyde Park neighbourhood, where the family had been waiting to cross. A witness described being stopped at a red light when the truck sped past her, shaking her car from the force. One woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and the others were rushed to a hospital, three of them later succumbed to their wounds. Shortly before 9:00 pm, a black pickup truck approached a cab parked at Cherryhill Village Mall, about away from the attack. The driver of the truck, 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, approached the cab driver, said that he had just killed someone and asked the cabbie to call the police. Speaking on behalf of the traumatized driver, Yellow Taxi London president Hassan Savehilaghi described Veltman as wearing a military-style helmet and a

bullet-proof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. ...

which may have been tagged with

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

s, and the truck was covered with blood. Savehilaghi's description was corroborated by a mall maintenance worker who also witnessed the arrest. The driver called

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

and waved down a passing police cruiser. Veltman allegedly laughed as he was arrested, and asked the driver to film it.

Victims

The five victims were all from the same family and Muslims; most arrived in Canada from Pakistan in 2007. The dead were a 46-year-old husband, his 44-year-old wife, their 15-year-old daughter and his 74-year-old mother. The only survivor, the family's nine-year-old boy was seriously injured. On June 14, a family friend said he was out of the hospital.

Accused

By June 7, Nathaniel Veltman was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of

. The London Police Service believe he planned the attack in advance. He was wearing a body-armour-style vest at the time of his arrest, and might have participated in an airsoft shooting game that evening before the collision. He had no previous connection to the victims or known ties to hate groups. Veltman worked at an egg-packing facility in Strathroy and lived in an apartment on Covent Market Place in downtown London. One friend and co-worker who was raised as a Muslim described him as a proud

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, and noted he seemed to treat Muslims normally for the four years he worked there. Co-workers said the alleged murders and motivation seemed out-of-character and unexpected, one denying Veltman is a radical terrorist or Islamophobe. During Veltman's parents' divorce in 2016, he was described as "peculiar and challenging", and both agreed he should continue therapy and be supervised around his younger siblings.

Legal proceedings

Shortly after the attack,

Crown attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel (or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors) are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and ...

s charged Veltman with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of

. He made a court appearance on June 10, without a lawyer, so was given time to find one. On June 14, the charges were all upgraded to include terrorism, and the court adjourned until June 21. Many details of the case are under a publication ban.

Reactions

The House of Commons held a moment of silence for the victims. The attack was condemned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the

Islamic Supreme Council of Canada The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC; french: Le Conseil Suprême Islamique de Canada) is a Canadian Islam, Muslim organization based in Calgary, Alberta. It was founded in 2000 by Sufi Imam Syed Soharwardy with the aims of fostering Canadia ...

, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, the

National Council of Canadian Muslims The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) is a Canadian Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. NCCM was formerly known as the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN). NCCM is active in human rights and civil li ...

and Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan all of whom called it an act of terrorism motivated by hatred. All parties in the Canadian parliament agreed to call "an emergency national action summit to tackle Islamophobia." A vigil was held on June 8, at the London Muslim Mosque.

Doug Ford temporarily lifted provincial COVID-19 restrictions in London for it to proceed. Trudeau, Ford and London mayor Ed Holder attended, among thousands more. On June 12, a public funeral was held with hundreds in attendance. In June 2022 the city of London and other organizations organized an event in honour of those killed as well as to generate awareness about Islamophobia. Over 1000 people attended the event, including Prime Minister Trudeau.

References