Canadian man pleads not guilty to running down, killing Muslim family in Ontario

A Canadian man accused of deliberately running over and killing four members of a Pakistan-origin Muslim family with his vehicle in Ontario has pleaded not guilty.

Local media reported on Tuesday afternoon that Nathaniel Veltman pleaded not guilty to all the charges during the Ontario Superior Court of Justice hearing in the city of Windsor.

Veltman is accused of deliberately hitting the Afzaal family members with his pick-up truck as they were out for a walk on the evening of June 6, 2021.

The 22-year old Canadian man is accused of intentionally targeting the family because of their faith.

Jury selection began on Tuesday in the trial of Veltman, who faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for the attack in London, a city about 200km west of Toronto. The selection was set to continue on Wednesday for the trial that is expected to last 12 weeks.

Standing next to the accused as the court registrar read the charges, defense lawyer Christopher Hicks entered not guilty pleas on Veltman’s behalf.

Last year, Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance ruled that a change of venue is warranted in the case, moving the trial from London to Windsor, Ontario.

Salman Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumnah and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were killed in the attack. The couple’s 9-year-old son was also seriously hurt but survived.

Madiha and Salman had come to Canada from Pakistan for a better future.

Veltman was arrested shortly after the attack in a parking lot close to London's oldest mosque, where the Afzaal family were devoted members.

The suspect was wearing what appeared to be body armor and a helmet, police back then said.

Call for action on Islamophobia as Canada Muslims remember Afzaal family killing

Muslim community leaders in Canada renew demands from the government to deal with Islamophobia a year after four members of a Muslim family were killed in a terrorist hate attack.

The Canadian man was motivated by extremist right-wing views associated with white supremacy when he intentionally drove his truck over a curb to strike the Muslim family members. Authorities say Veltman deliberately targeted Muslims in a deadly and hate-fueled attack.

The killing renewed trauma for Muslim community members across Canada, many of whom were still reeling in the aftermath of a deadly 2017 assault on a Quebec City mosque and a fatal stabbing at another mosque in Toronto in 2020.

The attack on the Afzaal family sent waves of shock, grief and fear across Canada and spurred ongoing calls for measures to combat Islamophobia in the country.

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