A man who killed four members of a Muslim family and injured a fifth in London, Ont., committed an act of terrorism, an Ontario superior court justice concluded Thursday.
Justice Renee Pomerance went so far as to describe Nathaniel Veltman’s actions as a “textbook example” of a lone wolf terrorist act.
Veltman, 23, purposefully drove his truck into the Afzaal family on June 6, 2021. 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 in the attack, while the couple’s nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.
The sentencing decision
The trial began in September in Windsor, Ont., though sentencing submissions and Thursday’s decision have taken place in London. Veltman was found guilty on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in November, with jurors returning to a packed courtroom after less than six hours of deliberation.
The first-degree murder charges come with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years, but the question of what role, if any, terrorism played in the attack played a central role in the sentencing decision. The decision also saw the judge determine the sentence for the attempted murder charge, which comes with a minimum of 10 years.
In the end, Pomerance chose the harshest possible option by imposing a life sentence for the attempted murder charge and by concluding that Veltman’s actions amounted to terrorism, which will be factored into any parole decisions down the line. The sentences will be served concurrently.
“I find the offender’s actions constitute terrorist activity,” Pomerance said at the outset of her decision Thursday morning.
“The offender is a self-described white nationalist and Christian. … He hoped to inspire others and instill fear in the Muslim community.”
Pomerance pointed to Veltman’s planning and deliberation in the months leading up to the attack, noting the purchase of a new truck and large grill guard and a piece of paper that listed vehicle speeds and the percentage likelihood of pedestrian deaths.
She added that when he saw the Afzaal family, whom he did not know, he believed they were Muslim because of their clothing and he drove into them at full speed without touching the brakes.
She also stated that she would not be using the offender’s name in her decision, nor would she repeat what he said to police the night he was arrested, noting that media coverage invariably publicizes what happened and those who commit terrorist activities “hope and plan for this.”
However, she acknowledged that while “there is always a danger that corrosive evidence might be celebrated” by bad actors, that must be balanced with the public’s right to know.
“It is my hope that this sense of fear and intimidation will not be the lasting legacy of this case.”
Instead, Pomerance said she hopes the trial process sends a different message.
“Namely, that there is no place in Canadian society for the hate and racism that spawned” the offender’s actions on June 6, 2021.
Pomerance’s decision also rejected the defence’s submission that Veltman’s mental state be considered as a mitigating factor in his sentence. She raised that the psychologist who testified at trial was forbidden by the offender from speaking to his mother or siblings and from accessing previous health records and so diagnoses of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder were based solely on Veltman’s own comments.
Additionally, even if the diagnoses are correct, the jury’s decision suggests it found that such illnesses did not play a role in the crimes.
“He was a deliberate and conscious actor,” who only stopped because he decided killing the Afzaals was “enough,” Pomerance said.
The threshold for terrorism
While the jury found Veltman guilty of first-degree murder, it did not disclose whether that decision was made by deciding the murders were planned and deliberate, that they were committed during the commission of a terrorist act, or both.
Instead, it was up to the judge to determine what role, if any, terrorism played.
“The evidence in this case does not logically permit a binary choice” between the two options, Pomerance explained.
“If there was a plan, it was to commit a terrorist activity. If there was a terrorist activity, it follows that it was planned and deliberate.”
The defence tried to argue that while Veltman held racist views, it didn’t rise to the level of proving terrorism under criminal law. Pomerance disagreed, noting the definition requires three elements: motive, intention and consequence and that all three were met.
She said the Crown easily proved the necessary consequence for terrorism, namely that in this case the actions caused death and bodily harm.
As for motive, Pomerance determined that while the offender “held antipathy toward any number of identifiable groups,” the thread knitting them together was that “he believes in the superiority of the white race” and that that system of beliefs was his motive.
For intention, the defence argued that Veltman’s desire for revenge against so-called “Muslim grooming gangs” is not the same as wanting to intimidate the public and that he did not share his beliefs or writings with anyone. Pomerance, however, said that his secrecy was a “tactical decision” and that he was a “lone wolf.”
“He did not want to be detected, he did not want to end up on a watchlist, he did not want to see his plan fail.”
She said determining that Veltman’s actions constitute terrorism is an “inescapable conclusion.”
The community reacts
Salman Afzaal was a physiotherapist described in victim impact statements as selfless and friendly. Madiha Salman earned her master’s in engineering at Western University in London and was working toward a PhD in environmental engineering at the time of her murder. She was described by loved ones as a problem solver “full of wonderful ideas.” Talat Afzaal was a retired schoolteacher and artist who painted mostly landscapes but had begun painting cartoons to delight her grandchildren. Yumna Afzaal was also a talented artist praised by classmates for her kindness and warmth.
The surviving victim, now 11 years old, wrote in a victim impact statement that he was left with a broken leg and collarbone and will eventually have to get a metal plate taken out of his leg and have to re-learn how to walk.
He said since the attack, he’s had to leave the family home he had lived in since he was three years old. He will never again get to enjoy any of the wonderful food his mother would cook, nor get to enjoy his father’s butter chicken, his sister’s pasta, or his grandmother’s potato wedges. Nor will he have his family by his side as he experiences life’s milestones.
In a written statement presented to the media before the sentencing decision, the Afzaal family extended its thanks to those involved in the legal proceedings as well as the communities of London and Windsor “and the public at large for all their support during this difficult time.”
“Today’s sentencing has brought relief to people near and far,” said the statement released Thursday.
Following the sentencing, London Mayor Josh Morgan released a statement announcing that the Our London Family Flag will be raised outside of City Hall from Feb. 23 to 26.
“For the first time in Canada’s history, white nationalism has been categorically criminalized as terrorism and is treated as such,” he said Thursday.
“I hope today’s sentence signals to every visible Muslim that you belong, and that your rights are just as valuable as the rights of anyone else.”
He also acknowledged that “many Muslims continue to feel unsafe” and that “no amount of justice” can bring back the Afzaal family, but he said the city remains “committed to the ‘London For All Action Plan to Disrupt Islamophobia.’”
With files from The Canadian Press as well as Global News’ Seán O’Shea and Ben Harrietha and a file from Andrew Graham.