ONTARIO, Canada: A Canadian man accused of intentionally running over and killing four members of a Muslim family in London (Canada), Ontario pleaded not guilty Tuesday as jury selection began for his trial.
Nathaniel Veltman is accused of intentionally running down members of the Afzaal family while they were out walking on the evening of June 6, 2021. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Defence attorney Christopher Hicks, who stood next to the accused as the court registrar read the charges, entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Veltman.
Wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and black pants in court, Veltman sat quietly between his defense attorneys, Hicks and Peter Ketcheson, during jury selection.
Jury selection was due to continue on Wednesday in a trial expected to last 12 weeks.
Superior Court Judge Renee Pomerance ruled last year that a change of venue was warranted in the case, and the trial moved from London to Windsor, Ontario.
The reasons for this decision, as well as the evidence and arguments presented in court, cannot be published due to a publication ban.
46-year-old Salman Afzaal, 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 nine-year-old son was also seriously injured but survived.
Pomerance said the prosecution alleges that Veltman, who was 20 years old at the time of his arrest, was motivated by extremist right-wing white supremacist views when he intentionally drove his truck over a curb to hit members of a Muslim family.
However, one of the allegations were proven in court.
The attack on the Afzaal family sent waves of shock, grief and fear across Canada and prompted ongoing calls for action to combat Islamophobia in the country.
The City of London has named a garden after Afzaal family.
