maaxx.ca

Liputan6.com, Ottawa – A Canadian is suspected of killing a Muslim family in Ontario in a bid to scare all Muslims.

Reported BBCOn Thursday (16/11/2023), prosecutors said the attacker named Nathaniel Veltman (22) planned to send a “brutal message”.

Veltman faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Additionally, he also faces terrorism charges and prosecutors say he targeted the family because of their beliefs. The accused faces life in prison if convicted.

The defense and prosecutors agreed that Veltman was driving the car on June 6, 2021 and that the victims, namely the Afzaal family, were taking a walk in the afternoon.

All members of the Muslim family, Salman Afzaal (46) and his wife Madiha Salman (44), their daughter Yumna Afzaal (15) and Afzaal’s mother, Talat Afzaal (74), were killed in the attack. A nine-year-old boy was seriously injured, but survived the incident.

Veltman has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, arguing that he suffered from mental illness.

This is the first time a jury in Canada has heard legal arguments regarding white supremacist terrorism.

The committee must decide not only whether Veltman is guilty of murder, but also whether his actions qualify as terroristic.

Prosecutors are also trying to prove that the killing was intentional and carried out for political, religious or ideological purposes to intimidate society or certain groups.

Aside from that, prosecutors are also trying to prove that Veltman’s actions were motivated by white nationalist ideology to attack Afzaal’s family.