[ad_1]
A man driving a pickup truck jumped onto a sidewalk in the Canadian province of Ontario and crashed into a Muslim family, killing four and seriously injuring another in what police described as a targeted anti-Islam hate crime.
A 20-year-old man in a jacket “like body armor” fled the scene of the massacre Sunday night, but was arrested at a mall four miles from the intersection in London, Ontario, Detective Director Paul White said Monday.
Nathaniel Feltman, from London, faces four counts of first-degree murder. Police said he did not know the victims.
There is evidence that this was a premeditated, hateful act. “It is believed that these victims were targeted because they are Muslims,” White told reporters, noting that police reviewed the suspect’s social media posts.
He said investigators had not determined whether the suspect was a member of any specific hate group – and added that police were working with federal authorities to find out potential terrorism charges.
The family targeted in the attack: Salman Afzal, 46; His wife is Madiha, 44 years old. their daughter Youmna, 15; A 74-year-old grandmother, whose name has been withheld. The boy who was taken to the hospital has been identified as Fayez
The family issued a statement identifying the victims as Salman Afzal (46 years), his wife Madiha (44), their daughter Youmna (15 years) and Jeddah (74 years) whose name has been withheld.
The boy who was taken to the hospital was identified as Fayez.
“Everyone who knows Salman and the rest of the Afzal family knows the typical family they were in as Muslims, Canadians and Pakistanis,” the statement said.
London Police are investigating the scene of a car accident in London, Ontario. AP
They have worked hard in their fields and excelled. Their children were among the first students in their school and were strongly connected to their spiritual identity.
Salman was a physical therapist and cricket lover, and Madiha was working on a Ph.D. in civil engineering at Western University, according to an online fundraising account. She added that their daughter was finishing ninth grade, and the grandmother was a “pillar” of the family.
The family said the public should stand up against hatred and Islamophobia.
“This young man who committed this act of terrorism was influenced by a group he was associated with, and the rest of the community must take a strong stand against this, from the highest levels of our government to every member of the community,” he said in the statement.
A row of police officers search for clues at the site of a car accident in London, Ontario. AP
Police said the five family members were walking together along the sidewalk around 8:40 p.m. Sunday when the black car “came up on the sidewalk and hit them” while they were waiting to cross the intersection.
Mayor Ed Holder described the incident as “an act of mass murder committed against Muslims. It was rooted in unspeakable hatred.”
Police Chief Stephen Williams also said, “There is no tolerance in this community motivated by hate and targeting others with violence.”
Paige Martin, a neighborhood resident who witnessed the aftermath of the fatal accident, said she was stopped at a red light when a large pickup truck passed in front of her. She said her car shook from the force.
People attend a memorial at the site where a driver rammed a family of five
“I was shaken, I thought it was an eccentric driver,” Martin said, adding that she quickly encountered the horrible and chaotic scene at the intersection.
Soon, first responders arrived to help, and a police officer applied chest compressions to one person and three other people lying on the ground.
Several drivers also got out of their cars to help.
“I can’t get the screaming sound out of my head,” Martin said. “My heart is too broken for them.”
Family friend Zahid Khan said the victims immigrated from Pakistan 14 years ago and were loyal, decent and generous members of the London Muslim Mosque.
A destroyed street sign where a driver hit a family of five
“They were out for walks and they were out every day,” Khan said, crying near the site. “I just wanted to see.”
Qazi Khalil said he saw the family living nearby on Thursday when they were out for a walk.
“It totally destroyed me from the inside. I really can’t come to terms with them not being here anymore,” Khalil said.
Holder said the flags will be lowered for three days in the city, which he said has between 30,000 and 40,000 Muslims out of more than 400,000 residents.
A row of police officers search for clues at the site of a car accident in London, Ontario. AP
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet: “To the Muslim community in London and Muslims across the country, know that we stand with you.
“Islamophobia has no place in any of our societies. This hatred is cunning and despicable – and it must stop.”
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said in a statement that it was “extremely horrific and demands justice” for the victims who were “out for a walk” on a warm spring evening.
A police car passes the place where a driver hit a family of five
“This is a terrorist attack on Canadian soil and it must be dealt with as such,” council president Mustafa Farouk told Radio Canada, according to AFP.
The Canadian Muslim League also called on the authorities to “prosecute this horrific attack as an act of hate and terrorism.”
“Hate and Islamophobia have no place in Ontario,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a tweet. “This heinous act of violence must stop.”
Kai Habib consoles her daughter Lina Qamar at the place where a driver hit a family of five.
The attack brought back painful memories of a mass shooting at a Quebec City mosque in January 2017 when a 27-year-old white supremacist opened fire on worshippers, killing six men and seriously wounding five others.
At the time, before the New Zealand mosque shootings in March 2019, this was the worst attack on Muslims in the West.
The shooter, Alexandre Bissonnette, was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but that was reduced on appeal, and his sentence is now being reviewed by the Supreme Court.
People attend a memorial at the site where a driver rammed a family of five, in London, Ontario. AP
On April 23, 2018, a 28-year-old man drove a pedestrian with a rented pickup truck, killing 10 people.
Prior to that attack, Alec Minassian posted on Facebook a reference to an online community of “involuntary bachelors” whose sexual frustrations led them to adopt an anti-women ideology.
Minassian was convicted in March of the 10 murders and the attempted murder of 16 others. He will be sentenced in January 2022.
.
[ad_2]
Picture Credit!