The perpetrator of a car-ramming attack that killed four members of a Muslim family in Canada on Sunday appeared briefly before a judge in London, Ont., Thursday, June 10, as new details of his personality have emerged. been revealed by local media.
Read also: Muslim family killed by a ram car in Canada: Trudeau denounces a "terrorist attack"
Nathaniel Veltman, 20, appeared for a few minutes by videoconference in the middle of the morning at a procedural hearing. Dressed in an orange t-shirt and pants, wearing a mask, short hair, he simply declined his identity and answered a few questions about his defense. The young man, who has no criminal record and no known affiliation with an extremist organization, was charged in a first hearing earlier this week with four counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. If found guilty, he faces life imprisonment.
The police did not rule out bringing other charges against the suspect, particularly in connection with "
terrorism
", following this tragedy which shocked Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several leaders of the Muslim community have denounced a "
terrorist attack
". According to London police, Veltman had deliberately attacked the Afzaal family with his pickup as part of a "
premeditated and planned, motivated by hate
"
act
.
Five members of the same family had been mowed down while waiting to cross at a crossroads. Four of them were killed - a couple, their daughter and her grandmother - and a seriously injured 9-year-old survived. The alleged perpetrator had fled the crime scene, but was arrested seven kilometers away in the parking lot of a shopping center, where a taxi driver came face to face with him, according to the boss of this. last cited by Canadian media.
The suspect parked his pickup behind the car of the taxi driver, himself a Muslim, and insulted him, company president Hasan Savehilaghi said. "
He shouted at our colleague to call the police because he had killed someone,
" he said. The driver then noticed that the pickup was damaged and covered with bloodstains, according to Hasan Savehilaghi. The suspect was wearing a swastika t-shirt, bulletproof vest and military helmet, and he was laughing during his arrest, according to the testimony of the taxi driver cited by his boss.
