An anti-Muslim Canadian man killed three family generations just to send a fearful message to Muslims. This is what prosecutors said in their closing argument with the accused murderer.
The man was identified as Nathaniel Veltman, who allegedly killed four people on the evening of June 6, 2021. The 22-year-old Canadian resident has been charged with four first-degree murder charges, as well as one count of attempted murder.
Here are other details shared by prosecutors handling Veltman's case on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
Anti-Muslim Canadian Man Kills Three Family Generations
According to Independent UK's latest report, Nathaniel Veltman told prosecutors that his crime was a message to Muslims that they should leave Canada.
Law enforcement officials said that Veltman is trying to inflict fear among Muslims, warning them that if they don't leave the country, then they could be the next ones dying.
They added that Nathaniel "made the conscious choice" to fill himself with hate towards Muslims and to do a murderous terrorist attack against an innocent family.
The three Muslim family generations that he killed were 15-year-old Yumnah Afzaal (a high school student), 44-year-old Madiha Salman, and 46-year-old Salman Afzaal (the student's parents), as well as 74-year-old Talat Afzaal (the family matriarch who was an artist and a teacher).
Aside from these innocent Muslims, Veltman's murderous attack also injured a 9-year-old boy, who luckily survived.
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Anti-Muslim Man Admits He Was on Drugs
Mourners pray in front of the caskets during a funeral ceremony for three of the victims of the deadly shooting at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre, in Montreal, Quebec on February 2, 2017. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the funeral of two Algerians and a Tunisian man killed with three others in a mosque shooting.
BBC News reported that during his testimony to defend himself, Nathaniel Veltman admitted that he had consumed a large quantity of magic mushrooms 40 hours before killing the Muslims.
He used this information to argue that he was in a "dream-like" state when he "accidentally" ran over his victims in London, Ontario, while the family was going on an evening walk.
However, Veltman admitted that after taking the drugs, he thought of running over Muslims several times. The killer confirmed that when he saw the Muslim family, he couldn't stop his urge to run over them.
Veltman testified that the drugs he was taking likely exacerbated his existing "mental health conditions," forcing him to kill the three generations of the Muslim family.
Nathaniel's lawyer Christopher Hicks argued that he should not be charged with first-degree murder, but he is guilty of manslaughter.
"He is responsible for the deaths of these people. He's guilty of homicide - of manslaughter. If there is a death but the death is not intended, he's guilty of manslaughter," said a defense lawyer.
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