Canadian judge says killer of Muslim family committed terrorism

A Canadian judge ruled on Thursday that actions of a man who was convicted of murder and attempted murder and deliberately drove his truck into five members of the Afzaal family in London, Ont., on June 6, 2021, amounted to terrorism under the law. 

Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance told a packed courtroom, "I have chosen not to name the offender nor share the hateful things he shared with police or in his manifesto. This is because his actions constitute terrorist activity." 

"In fact, one could say this was a textbook case of terrorist activity." 

A jury in Windsor, Ont., found Nathaniel Veltman, 23, guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in November. 

Yumnah Afzaal, 15, her parents — Madiha Salman, 44, an engineer, and Salman Afzaal, 46, a physiotherapist — were killed, as was family matriarch Talat Afzaal, 74, a teacher and artist. The boy who survived was among dozens of people who gave victim impact statements in January during the first part of the sentencing.

The murder convictions carry an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, but it was up to Pomerance to determine whether his actions constituted terrorism, based on the facts considered by the jury that convicted him. The judge also sentenced him to a concurrent life sentence for the attempted murder of the orphaned boy — defence lawyers had asked for 10 years.

Relatives of the Afzaal family released a statement after the hearing.

"Today's sentencing has brought relief to people near and far," the statement said. "We would like to thank the justice system, the Crown attorneys, the team of investigators, London police department support services, RCMP and media outlets for their efforts to bring justice to our loved ones.

"We would like to thank our family and friends along with the community of London, Windsor and the public at large for all their support during this difficult time."