An Ontario, Canada jury found Nathaniel Veltman guilty of the first-degree murders of Yumnah Afzaal, her parents Madiha and Salman Afzaal, and grandmother Talat Afzaal in a hate-motivated attack. A nine-year-old boy was also injured in the truck attack but survived. The deceased victims were 15-74 years old. 

Nathaniel Veltman targeted the Afzaal family of London, Ontario specifically because of their faith and Muslim identities, admitting freely to the police in his first interview following the murders in 2021 that he attacked the family with his truck for “purely political reasons.” Veltman also admitted in the interview that he had looked at other attacks against Muslims for inspiration and that he wished to “send a message” to the Muslim community.

This attack comes at a time amid rising hate crimes against Jews, Muslims and Catholics in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the number of hate crimes between 2019 and 2021 increased by 72 percent. Furthermore, the Canadian Senate recommended mandatory training on islamophobia and unconscious bias through in federal offices and an increase of government funding to address hate-motivated crimes in its 2022 report “Combating Hate: Islamophobia and its Impacts on Muslims in Canada.”

Despite this rise in Islamophobia, the victims’ family released a statement following the verdict thanking the London and Windsor, Ontario communities for their strength and support. The family wrote that “this wasn’t just a crime against the Muslim community, but rather, an attack against the safety and security of all Canadians.”

Sentencing will be determined on December 1 and 2.