Trial of Nathaniel Veltman, accused in London vehicle attack, begins today

Canuck September 5, 2023

The trial of Nathaniel Veltman, who is facing terror-related murder charges, is set to start today in Windsor as jury selection gets underway.

The 22-year-old is accused of killing four members of the Afzaal family, who were struck by a pickup truck on June 6, 2021.

The family of five was out for a walk along Hyde Park Road in west London when they were allegedly rundown.

Salman Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were killed. A young boy, now 11 years old, was the lone survivor.

Veltman, was arrested moments after the crash and was charged with four-counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Police have said they believe Veltman did not know the family, but targeted them because of their Muslim faith.

In June 2021, prosecutors informed Veltman that they had received consent to pursue terrorism charges under section 83 of the Criminal Code.

A 2018 report from Public Safety Canada states that as of that year, 55 individuals had been charged with terrorism-related offences since they became a specific part of the Criminal Code in 2001.

Representatives from the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and members of the Muslim community of London, plan to hold a news conference addressing the upcoming trial outside the Windsor Superior courthouse Tuesday morning.

A change of venue was granted by Justice Renee Pomerance last fall, which moved the trial to Windsor. A change of venue is made to ensure that there is a fair and impartial jury pool.

Jury selection is expected to take a few days, and a total of 10 weeks has been set aside for the proceedings.

— With files from The Canadian Press, CTV London’s Nick Paparella and CTVNews.ca’s Ryan Flanagan.

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