It was another brief court hearing on Wednesday for the 20-year-old accused in June’s targeted vehicle attack in London, Ont., which left four members of a Muslim family dead and their young child injured in hospital.
Nathaniel Veltman of London could be seen wearing a face mask and orange prison attire as he made a virtual appearance from the confines of the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC), a jail in the city’s south end, in a hearing that saw the case held over for another month.
Veltman faces four counts of first-degree murder along with one count of attempted murder, and Crown prosecutors allege that each offence constituted an act of terrorism.
Wednesday’s virtual appearance lasted less than three minutes and saw an articling student appear on behalf of Veltman’s lawyer, Christopher Hicks.
The student told the court more time is needed to receive and review disclosure related to the matter.
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The court ruled in favour of the request and the case is now set to return on Sept. 22.
The student also spoke briefly with Veltman, instructing the 20-year-old to call his lawyer as soon as he can.
Veltman remains in custody at EMDC in the meantime.
The ongoing court case surrounds what marks the deadliest mass murder in London’s history.
On the evening of June 6, five members of a local family were out for a walk in the city’s Hyde Park neighbourhood before they were run over by a pickup truck.
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.
The couple’s nine-year-old son, Fayez, was left seriously injured.
A day after the attack, Chief Steve Williams said London police “believe the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith.”
An outpouring of support and solidarity followed in the wake of the tragedy.
The latest tribute arrived in the form of a memorial service from Western University held in honour of Salman and Madiha.
In 2010, Salman earned a master’s degree in health sciences at the university before launching a career as a physiotherapist working in long-term care homes.
Madiha earned her master’s in engineering at Western and was working toward a PhD in environmental engineering, a doctorate she would later receive posthumously.
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