Who is Nathaniel Veltman wiki, Incident details
Nathaniel Veltman is a man accused of crashing and killing four members of a Canadian Muslim family with his pickup truck targeted them in a hate-motivated attack, police said on Monday.
Nathaniel Veltman Age
He Is 20 Year old
Police in London, Ontario, based on eyewitnesses, said 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman jumped off the pavement in his car on Sunday, struck five members of the family, between 9 and 74, and then quickly drove away. .
London resident Veltman, who was arrested after the incident, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one attempted murder. He will appear in court again on Thursday after his arrest on Monday.
“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated action motivated by hatred,” Detective Paul Waight of the London Police Department told reporters.
“We think the victims were targeted because of their Islamic beliefs,” Waight said.
Police in London – 200 km (120 mi) southwest of Toronto – said they had consulted with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and prosecutors on potential terrorism charges.
What Is the Police Point of view about the suspect Nathaniel Veltman
Police said the suspect had no criminal record and was not known to be a member of a hate group. Police said he was arrested without incident while wearing an armored vest in the parking lot of a shopping mall. There is no evidence that he was an accomplice. It is not yet known whether the suspect hired a lawyer.
Police did not release the names of the victims, but the London Free Press said the dead included Syed Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, and their 15-year-old daughter, Yumnah Afzaal. Syed Afzaal’s 74-year-old mother, whose name has not yet been confirmed, also died. Their 9-year-old son, Faez Afzaal, is in the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
According to media reports, the family immigrated from Pakistan about 14 years ago.
What witnesses saw at the spot
Witness Paige Martin told reporters that a black truck sped past and ran a red light while walking, and then she arrived on the scene and saw “chaos”: “It was like something you would definitely never want to see.”
The attack was the worst attack on Canadian Muslims since the killing of a man who shot six members of a mosque in Quebec City in 2017. London Mayor Ed Holder said it was the worst mass murder his city had ever seen.
“We grieve for the family that has passed away for three generations,” Holder told reporters. “This was an act of mass murder, based on an indescribable hatred of Muslims, of Londoners,” he said.
Misty Santerre and her daughter Jasmina react near flowers planted at the deadly crime scene in London, Ontario, where a man driving a pickup truck jumped off the pavement and crushed a Muslim family, which police said was an intentionally targeted anti-Islamic hate crime. Canada 7 June 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
Abdullah Alzureiqi and his daughter Hala pray at the scene of a deadly crime in London, Ontario, Canada, where a man driving a pickup truck jumped off the pavement and crushed a Muslim family, which police said was an intentionally anti-Islamic hate crime. June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
Members of Selamati lay flowers at the deadly crime scene in London, Ontario, Canada, on June 7, when a man driving a pickup truck jumped off the pavement and crushed a Muslim family in what police have described as a deliberate anti-Islamic hate crime. 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
About Abdullah Alzureiqi and his daughter and his daughter
Abdullah Alzureiqi and his daughter Hala pray at the deadly crime scene in London, Ontario, Canada, where a man driving a pickup truck jumped off the pavement and crushed a Muslim family, which police said was an intentionally anti-Islamic hate crime. June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “appalled” by the news on Twitter. “Islamophobia has no place in any of our societies. This hatred is insidious and vile – and must be stopped.”
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford said on Twitter that “Justice must be served for the horrific act of hate that has taken place”.
‘TERROR ATTACK’
Late Monday evening, a steady stream of mourners were seen arriving at the scene of the attack, laying flowers and praying. A banner read: “When will it stop? Enough.”
A GoFundMe campaign supporting victims’ family members has already raised almost C$120,000 ($99,000) within an hour.
A memorial service was held at a local mosque on Tuesday night to commemorate the victims.
“This is a terrorist attack on Canadian soil and should be treated as such,” said Mustafa Farooq, chairman of the National Council of Muslims of Canada.
London, where about 400,000 people live, has a large Muslim community, and Holder said Arabic is the second most spoken language in the city after English.
The school said in a statement that the young girl who was killed will be “deeply missed by the other students and staff at Oakridge Middle School.”
A man who describes himself as a neighbor gave it to Global News
What we know about the man accused in the London, Ont. attack
MIDDLESEX CENTER, ONT. Nathaniel Veltman, 20, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont. and attempted murder for allegedly injuring a fifth.
On Sunday, five members of a family – three generations – took a walk in the Hyde Park Road and South Carriage Road area after being hit by a pickup truck.
A family spokesperson identified the family members as Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and the children’s 74-year-old grandmother. The surviving child, Fayez, is nine years old.
Police said the driver of the pickup truck deliberately hit the family by getting onto the pavement.
“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated action and that the family was targeted because of their Muslim beliefs,” said London police Det.-Insp. Paul Waight during a briefing on Monday.
While no terrorism charges have yet been filed, it is still being evaluated, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford described the incident as a terrorist attack.
“Their lives were taken by an act of brutal, cowardly and arrogant violence. This killing was not accidental. It was a terrorist attack motivated by hatred in the heart of one of our communities,” Trudeau said on Tuesday.
Veltman was arrested a few kilometers from the scene of the accident, near the Cherryhill Village Shopping Center on Oxford Street, steps from the London Muslim Mosque.
On Tuesday, police were spotted at Veltman’s apartment in Covent Market Place in downtown London.
London police chief Steve Williams said the evidence currently shows Veltman acting alone and that no possible links to hate groups have been established.
“We’re going to want to look at the defendant’s background. Friends, family, frankly online activities and everything like that can pull together history and what brought us to the present and form part of this investigation. He can’t speak directly to groups he may have been involved with. I know there’s not necessarily inaccurate information out there, but We have to handle this ourselves.”
Gray Ridge Eggs confirmed that Veltman has been a part-time employee there for several years. He was reported to have worked in the navy.
“We were shocked and saddened to learn late Monday afternoon that Nathaniel Veltman, a part-time worker at our Strathroy plant, was arrested and charged,” the company said in a statement.
“We join our community to condemn this violent attack and offer our sincerest condolences to his family and the Muslim community,” the statement said.
Colleague Tina Perry, who says she’s known Veltman for several years, told CTV News he’s a nice guy who always shuts himself up but is always there to help when needed.
He says he was shocked by the allegations, “I was so shaken up by this, I would never have thought that he would do something like this in a million years.”
If you need mental health help after London, Ont. tool attack, support and resources are available here.