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A Canadian driver accused of killing 4 members of a Muslim family in a truck attack has been charged with terrorism

Jun 15, 2021, 00:10 IST
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People gather at the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario on June 12, 2021, to pay their respects at the funeral of four members of the Afzaal Family, in London, Ontario, Canada. - London, Ontario paid homage Saturday to the Muslim family deliberately mowed down by the driver of a pick-up truck, in an attack that has shocked Canadians and which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced as "terrorist."NICOLE OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images
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A driver in Canada who is accused of killing four members of a Muslim family with his vehicle in London, Ontario, has been charged with terrorism.

Police say Nathaniel Veltman, 20, intentionally drove into the family last week because they were Muslim.

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

Authorities said on June 7 Veltman was charged with first-degree murder because the crime was "pre-planned and premeditated." Police said they gathered a "variety of sources," including online information, to determine the crime was hate-motivated, according to the London Free Press reporter Juha Jonathan.

The victims were a 74-year-old woman, a 46-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman, and a 15-year-old girl, all of the same family.

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"The London Police Service and RCMP INSET wish to re-assure the public that there is no further known or suspected threat to the public associated to the accused at this time," London police said in a release on Monday. "The investigation is ongoing and will continue to be a collaborative effort between the London Police Service and RCMP INSET."

London Mayor Ed Holder said the attack was the worst crime of its kind in London's history.

"This was an act was mass murder, perpetrated against Muslims, against Londoners and rooted in unspeakable hatred," Holder said. "This act of unspeakable hatred, this act of Islamophobia, must be followed by acts of compassion, acts of kindness, acts of empathy, acts of solidarity - justice - and, above all else, love."

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