Prosecution alleges Veltman rammed truck into family because they were Muslim

Veltman, allegedly a white supremacist, is accused of killing a Muslim family of four in London, Ontario, in June 2021

ONTARIO, Canada – As a court in the Canadian province of Ontario opens the trial of Nathaniel Veltman, prosecutors argue he mowed Muslim family down only because they were Muslim.

Veltman, allegedly a white supremacist, is accused of killing a Muslim family of four in London, Ontario, in June 2021.

Veltman has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Prosecutors told jurors that Veltman intentionally targeted the Afzaal family because they were Muslim.

Veltman had bought the truck two weeks before the attack and had set out on June 6 with a specific goal: To find and kill Muslims.

The two women in the Afzaal family were wearing traditional Pakistani clothing.

The trial is expected to last three months and is expected to shed light on the events leading up to the attack and the motive.

The Afzaal family, which included 15-year-old Yumnah Afzaal, her parents Madiha Salman, 44, and Salman Afzaal, 46, and the family mother Talat Afzaal, 74, were on an evening walk in London, Ontario.

The pickup truck, reportedly driven by Veltman, ran over the curb, drove onto the sidewalk and rammed into the family.