Canada: A 20-year-old suspect wearing a vest “like body armor” driving a pick-up truck slammed into and killed four members (3 generations) of a Muslim family in the Ontario province of Canada.
Paul Waight, Detective Superintendent said, the suspect fled the scene after the attack on Sunday evening and was arrested at a mall seven kilometers (four miles) from the intersection in London, Ontario where it happened.
According to police, the five family members were walking together along a sidewalk and were waiting to cross the intersection, when a black pick-up truck jumped the curb on Sunday hits them on the sidewalk.
“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act, motivated by hate,” Detective Superintendent Paul Waight of the London police department told reporters.
“We believe the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith,” Waight said.
According to Ontario’s London mayor Ed Holder, the victims are 74-year-old (grandmother), Syed Afzaal 46-year-old (son), Madiha Salman 44-year-old (daughter-in-law), and Yumnah Afzaal 15-year-old (granddaughter) together representing three generations of the same family.
Faez Afzaal nine-year-old (grandson) was also hospitalized following the attack and is recovering.
The family immigrated from Pakistan about 14 years ago, according to media reports.
“Let me be clear, this was an act of mass murder perpetrated against Muslims, against Londoners, rooted in unspeakable hatred,” Mayor said further.
The suspect Identified as Nathaniel Veltman, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said in a statement it was “beyond horrified and demands justice” for the family who were just “out for a walk” on a warm spring evening.
“Hate and Islamophobia have NO place in Ontario,” tweeted Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “These heinous acts of violence must stop.”
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