Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
On Sunday night, around 8:30 p.m., a taxi driver pulled into the Cherryhill Mall parking lot in London, Ont., for what he thought was going to be a quick break.
He had no idea that within minutes, he would be coming face-to-face with the suspect who allegedly rammed a vehicle into a Muslim family on purpose, killing all but a 9-year-old boy in what police believe was a targeted, hate-motivated attack.
Hasan Savehilaghi, president of Yellow London Taxi, shared with CTV National News the chilling details of the encounter between the suspect and his colleague.
“He's shaken,” Savehilaghi said. “He's terrified.”
The suspect pulled up behind the taxi driver in a pick-up truck, hurling profanities, according to the witness. He was dressed in a military-style helmet and what appeared to be an armoured vest.
“He told my colleague, ‘Call police, I killed somebody,’” Savehilaghi said. “At that second, my colleague realized the front of the vehicle is severely damaged, with a lot of blood on it.”
The taxi driver called 911 and waved down a police cruiser. After police were on the scene, they quickly apprehended the driver of the truck.
“They took the vest off of him, and my colleague mentioned that the person had a swastika on his chest and back on his shirt,” Savehilaghi said.
Perhaps most chilling -- the suspect, 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, was laughing, he said.
Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Mediha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and her grandmother Talat Afzaal, 74, were killed Sunday evening by a pick-up truck while they were out for a walk along Hyde Park Road.
The remaining survivor, the couple’s nine-year-old son, is in hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
"There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act and that the family was targeted because of their Muslim faith," Det.-Insp. Paul Waight said during a briefing on Monday.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) called it a terror attack in a statement.
“A man allegedly got in his car, saw a Muslim family walking down the street, and made the decision that they do not deserve to live. He did not know them. This is a terrorist attack on Canadian soil and should be treated as such,” said Mustafa Farooq, the chief executive of the association.
Records show Veltman purchased a truck at a London dealership on May 12.
“It was a normal transaction,” Kai Idris, general manager of Southwest Auto Group, told CTV News. “I’m completely saddened by this.”
Veltman will appear in court tomorrow morning. He is facing charges of four counts of first degree murder, and one count of attempted murder.
If you need mental health help in the wake of the London, Ont. vehicle attack, support and resources are available here.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.