Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a statement in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, regarding the recent tragedy in London, Ontario. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Arvin Joaquin, The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, June 8, 2021 5:49PM EDT
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the attack in London, Ont., that killed four members of a Muslim family and left one child in hospital was an act of terrorism.
After observing a moment of silence for the victims, Trudeau spoke in the House of Commons and called the assault “a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred.”
“Their lives were taken in a brutal, cowardly and brazen act of violence,” Trudeau said. “This killing was no accident. This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred in the heart of one of our communities.”
Police said a man intentionally drove a truck into the family out for a walk on Sunday evening, and that he targeted them because of their faith.
Nathaniel Veltman, 20, faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Trudeau said he's horrified by the attack and that his government stands in solidarity with the victims' loved ones during this extremely difficult time.
“This is unfortunately not an isolated event,” Trudeau said. “So many other people across the country who faced insults, threats and violence. They were all targeted because of their Muslim faith. This is happening here in Canada and it has to stop.”
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole said he grieves with Muslim community members in London and across the country because this is a pain they have known before.
The latest statistics show that in 2017, the year of the Quebec City mosque shooting when a gunman killed six people, the incidents of police-reported hate crimes against Muslims in Canada rose to 349 cases - a 151-per cent increase from the 139 cases recorded in 2016.
However, Statistics Canada says about two-thirds of hate crimes across the country go unreported.
“Some people have said this is not our Canada, and I think about what that means when people say this is not our Canada,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “The reality is our Canada is a place of racism, of violence, of genocide of Indigenous people รข€¦ Muslims are not safe in this country.”
Singh said many people live in fear because of the way they look. He said most of the hatred stems from prejudice based on identity and faith.
“To Muslim Canadians, I'm so sorry that you have to live like this,” he said. “That you have to live in fear.”
Singh said Canada must acknowledge that the urgent threat to public safety comes from extreme right-wing ideology, white supremacy and hate groups that radicalize people, adding there must be resources to address these dangers.
Trudeau said the government will continue to fund initiatives like the Security Infrastructure Program to protect schools and places of worship for communities at risk. He added the Liberals will also continue to fight hate online and off-line, which will include more action to dismantle hate groups.
“We will continue doing everything we can to keep communities safe.”
Trudeau is scheduled to be at a vigil outside the London Muslim Mosque this evening. The prime minister also offered opposition leaders transport via Challenger to London, Ont.
An adviser to Green party Leader Annamie Paul said she'll also attend the vigil and will go to London via an electric car.
Trudeau's spokeswoman Ann-Clara Vaillancourt said O'Toole and Blanchet have accepted the offer of transportation.
Singh's office said he will travel separately to attend the vigil.
“I will be joining my Muslim friends and family in London today,” Singh wrote in a tweet. “To grieve with them. To pray with them. To be with them. Because that's what we do for the people we love.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2021.
Crowds begin to gather ahead of London vigil for family run down in hate-motivated attack
A vigil is being held for the Muslim family police say were targeted in a hate-motivated attack that killed 4. Watch LIVE here. CP24 LIVE | CP24.com
A vigil is being held for the Muslim family police say were targeted in a hate-motivated attack that killed 4. Watch LIVE here. CP24 LIVE | CP24.com
Community devastated by London attack: friend
Chris Fox, Web Content Writer, CP24
Published Tuesday, June 8, 2021 5:17AM EDT
Crowds are beginning to gather outside a London mosque ahead of a vigil to remember members of a Muslim family who police say were intentionally struck down by a vehicle in a hate-motivated attack over the weekend.
The family was out for an evening walk on Sunday when they were struck by a pickup truck being driven by a 20-year-old man.
Four members of the family ranging in age from 15 to 74 were all killed as a result.
The fifth member of the family, a nine-year-old boy, was seriously injured but is expected to survive.
The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, allegedly sped away from the scene following the carnage but was arrested at a nearby mall a short time later. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the attack.
“This is nothing short of a terrorist attack on innocent people based on their faith and their religion and there is no place for that in Ontario,” Premier Doug Ford told a pool reporter at Queen’s Park on Tuesday morning. “We are a community that sticks together and we will be united behind the Muslim community.”
Vigil set for tonight
Sunday’s attack and the subsequent revelation that it was motivated by hate has sent shockwaves through the London community and has prompted some calls for terror-related charges to be filed.
Tonight's vigil, set for 7 p.m., will be held at the London Muslim Mosque where the family were well known fixtures.
In advance of the parking lot vigil, the Ford government has issued a one-time exemption that will lift all pandemic gathering limits so long as attendees from different households remain two metres apart.
Speaking with CP24 earlier on Tuesday, London Mayor Ed Holder said that the vigil will be about “London wrapping its collective arms around our Muslim community” as they begin the grieving process.
“The Muslim community has been very much a fabric of our community. They are phenomenal contributors to London's economic and cultural well being. They've always been there for us as community and now it's our turn to be there for them,” he said. “So tonight we'll have a vigil at the London Muslim mosque and this will be London wrapping its collective arms around our little community and saying to them ‘we're in this together.’”
Holder said that Sunday’s attack was an “unthinkable” tragedy that has caused almost “indescribable pain and suffering.”
He said that he appreciates the fear and anxiety that many members of the city’s Muslim community are feeling in the wake of Sunday’s attack and wants them to know that the wider community is feeling their pain.
“We are all Londoners,” he said.
Family remembered for kind nature
Police have not released the names of the victims but relatives have identified them as Salman Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Salman and Afzaal's 74-year-old mother.
According to an online fundraiser page, Afzaal was a physiotherapist who was known for his “gentle and welcoming smile” while his wife “was a brilliant scholar and a caring mother and friend” who was obtaining her PhD in civil engineering at Western University.
The post said that the couple’s 15-year-old daughter was “a loving friend to many” who was just wrapping up her Grade 9 year while her grandmother “was a pillar of their family that cherished their daily walks.”
“This family struggled very hard and established themselves. They went to school, their kids were very bright and they were there always there with smiles for their neighbours, for everyone. Even when someone was being difficult, they were always very gentle with them,” family friend Saboor Khan told CP24 on Tuesday. “Just the ease and comfort people would feel around them, that friendship, it is gone and it will be missed forever.”
Trudeau, Ford to attend vigil
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend tonight’s vigil, as will Ford.
Conservative Party and NDP leaders Erin O’Toole and Jagmeet Singh will also be in attendance.
Addressing the tragedy at the House of Commons earlier on Tuesday, Trudeau called it a “terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities.”
"What happened on Sunday in London – this act of terrorism and of Islamophobia – is sickening. It is heartbreaking. It’s hard to find words that are enough," he said during a subsequent news conference "What can be said when yet another family has had their loved ones ripped away? When a child is in hospital? When a community is in mourning? So all I can say is this: To everyone who is grieving, who is angry, who is afraid – your neighbours stand with you. Your community stands with you. We will not let hate divide us"
Few details have emerged about the suspect and his motivations at this point, though CTV News did obtain a photo of him on Tuesday afternoon.
Gray Ridge Egg Farms also released a statement acknowledging that the suspect was a part-time employee at its Strathroy plant and extending their “heartfelt sympathy to the family and the Muslim community."
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Chris Fox, Web Content Writer, CP24
Published Tuesday, June 8, 2021 5:17AM EDT
Crowds are beginning to gather outside a London mosque ahead of a vigil to remember members of a Muslim family who police say were intentionally struck down by a vehicle in a hate-motivated attack over the weekend.
The family was out for an evening walk on Sunday when they were struck by a pickup truck being driven by a 20-year-old man.
Four members of the family ranging in age from 15 to 74 were all killed as a result.
The fifth member of the family, a nine-year-old boy, was seriously injured but is expected to survive.
The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, allegedly sped away from the scene following the carnage but was arrested at a nearby mall a short time later. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the attack.
“This is nothing short of a terrorist attack on innocent people based on their faith and their religion and there is no place for that in Ontario,” Premier Doug Ford told a pool reporter at Queen’s Park on Tuesday morning. “We are a community that sticks together and we will be united behind the Muslim community.”
Vigil set for tonight
Sunday’s attack and the subsequent revelation that it was motivated by hate has sent shockwaves through the London community and has prompted some calls for terror-related charges to be filed.
Tonight's vigil, set for 7 p.m., will be held at the London Muslim Mosque where the family were well known fixtures.
In advance of the parking lot vigil, the Ford government has issued a one-time exemption that will lift all pandemic gathering limits so long as attendees from different households remain two metres apart.
Speaking with CP24 earlier on Tuesday, London Mayor Ed Holder said that the vigil will be about “London wrapping its collective arms around our Muslim community” as they begin the grieving process.
“The Muslim community has been very much a fabric of our community. They are phenomenal contributors to London's economic and cultural well being. They've always been there for us as community and now it's our turn to be there for them,” he said. “So tonight we'll have a vigil at the London Muslim mosque and this will be London wrapping its collective arms around our little community and saying to them ‘we're in this together.’”
Holder said that Sunday’s attack was an “unthinkable” tragedy that has caused almost “indescribable pain and suffering.”
He said that he appreciates the fear and anxiety that many members of the city’s Muslim community are feeling in the wake of Sunday’s attack and wants them to know that the wider community is feeling their pain.
“We are all Londoners,” he said.
Family remembered for kind nature
Police have not released the names of the victims but relatives have identified them as Salman Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Salman and Afzaal's 74-year-old mother.
According to an online fundraiser page, Afzaal was a physiotherapist who was known for his “gentle and welcoming smile” while his wife “was a brilliant scholar and a caring mother and friend” who was obtaining her PhD in civil engineering at Western University.
The post said that the couple’s 15-year-old daughter was “a loving friend to many” who was just wrapping up her Grade 9 year while her grandmother “was a pillar of their family that cherished their daily walks.”
“This family struggled very hard and established themselves. They went to school, their kids were very bright and they were there always there with smiles for their neighbours, for everyone. Even when someone was being difficult, they were always very gentle with them,” family friend Saboor Khan told CP24 on Tuesday. “Just the ease and comfort people would feel around them, that friendship, it is gone and it will be missed forever.”
Trudeau, Ford to attend vigil
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend tonight’s vigil, as will Ford.
Conservative Party and NDP leaders Erin O’Toole and Jagmeet Singh will also be in attendance.
Addressing the tragedy at the House of Commons earlier on Tuesday, Trudeau called it a “terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities.”
"What happened on Sunday in London – this act of terrorism and of Islamophobia – is sickening. It is heartbreaking. It’s hard to find words that are enough," he said during a subsequent news conference "What can be said when yet another family has had their loved ones ripped away? When a child is in hospital? When a community is in mourning? So all I can say is this: To everyone who is grieving, who is angry, who is afraid – your neighbours stand with you. Your community stands with you. We will not let hate divide us"
Few details have emerged about the suspect and his motivations at this point, though CTV News did obtain a photo of him on Tuesday afternoon.
Gray Ridge Egg Farms also released a statement acknowledging that the suspect was a part-time employee at its Strathroy plant and extending their “heartfelt sympathy to the family and the Muslim community."
RELATED STORIES
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