Four killed in 'targeted' attack on Muslims in Canada's Ontario

Police say victims were from the same family and the attacker hit them with a pick-up truck

Four people were killed and one was injured in what police in London, Ontario, Canada, say was a hate crime against Muslims. Nafisa Azima and her daughter, Seena Safdari, visit a memorial at the place where a family of five was struck by a hit-and-run motorist. AP Photo

Abood, 18, left, and his sister Zeina Abdulhadi, 15, visit a memorial to the family of five hit by a driver, in London, Ontario, Canada. AP Photo

Floral tributes become a makeshift memorial on the street in London, Ontario, Canada, where a pick-up struck five members of a Muslim family in what police say was a hate crime. Four people were killed in the attack. Reuters

Zubair Ahmad and his wife put up a poster at the scene where pick-up jumped the kerb and ran over a Muslim family in London, Ontario, Canada. Four people were killed in the attack. Reuters

Flowers are laid at the scene where police in London, Ontario, Canada, say a man driving a pick-up jumped the kerb and ran over a Muslim family. Four people were killed. Reuters

Clara Meagher, left, and Kelyalynn Detibeiro put up a sign at the scene in London, Ontario, Canada, where four of five members of a Muslim family were killed by what police say was a hit-and-run attacker. Reuters

Candles are arranged in a heart shape at a makeshift memorial to the members of Muslim family killed by a hit-and-run driver in London, Ontario, Canada. Reuters

People gather at a makeshift memorial in London, Ontario, Canada, for four members of a Muslim family killed in what police say was a hit-and-run attack. Reuters

Torpenky Khan looks at a street sign flattened when four of five members of a Muslim family were killed by a hit-and-run driver in London, Ontario, Canada. AP Photo

Visitors gather at a makeshift memorial to members of a Muslim family who were killed in a hit-and-run attack in London, Ontario, Canada. Police say the incident was a hate crime. Reuters

Misty Santerre and her daughter Jasmina visit the scene in London, Ontario, Canada, where a man driving a pick-up jumped the kerb and ran over a Muslim family in what police are calling a hate crime. Reuters

A line of police officers look for evidence at the scene of a car crash in London, Ontario, Canada. Four of five members of a Muslim family were killed when a vehicle struck them in what investigators say was a hate crime. AP Photo

Members of three generations of a Muslim family have been killed in the Canadian city of London, Ontario, in what police are calling a “targeted” attack.

“Based on information collected during the course of the investigation, we believe that this was an intentional act,” London Police Chief Steve Williams said on Monday afternoon.

“We believe the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith.”

A police car passes the location where a family of five was hit by a driver, in London, Ontario, Monday, June 7, 2021. AP Photo

Police said Nathaniel Veltman, 20, used a black pick-up truck to jump a kerb and strike five members of the same family late Sunday evening.

A woman in her 70s, a man and woman in their 40s, and a girl, 15, were killed in the attack.

A child, 9, struck by the vehicle is in hospital with serious injuries.

Police arrested the suspected driver of the pick-up truck about seven kilometres from the scene of the crime.

Veltman has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

"There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act, motivated by hate," Detective Superintendent Paul Waight of the London police department said, adding that police in London were consulting with the federal police and prosecutors about potentially filing terrorism charges.

"Everyone who knew Salman and the rest of the Afzal family knows the model family they were as Muslims, Canadians, and Pakistanis. They were always there giving and participating in spreading goodness," the family said in a statement.

"We need to understand that the destruction of a family in the brutal and horrific manner like this is something we must all stand against."

The attack has shocked the city of 400,000 residents, 200km south-west of Toronto.

“Words fail on a day as dark as this,” said the city’s Mayor, Ed Holder.

“I grieve for the family, three generations of whom are now deceased. I grieve for their loved ones. I pray for the child.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter that he was "horrified" by the news. "Islamophobia has no place in any of our communities. This hate is insidious and despicable - and it must stop," he said.

The driver, who police say was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of his arrest, appeared in court by video on Monday afternoon.

"This is a terrorist attack on Canadian soil and should be treated as such,” said Mustafa Farooq, chief executive of the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

“We call on the government to prosecute the attacker to the fullest extent of the law, including considering terrorist charges.”

The attack was the worst against Canadian Muslims since a man gunned down six members of a Quebec City mosque in 2017.