Prosecutor Says Accused in London Terrorist Attack Wanted to Send Message to Muslims
"[He] had a message for Muslims: leave this country or you and your loved ones could be next. Actions speak louder than words and his actions were louder than a bomb and every bit as deadly," Crown prosecutor Fraser Ball said during his closing address in Ontario Superior Court in Windsor.
"He can change his story now, but he cannot change the facts. The evidence against him is overwhelming. It was all in service of his brutal message — he made the conscious choice to fill himself full of hate for Muslims ... and to plan and execute a murderous terrorist attack," CBC News quoted him as saying.
As Crown and defence lawyers delivered their closing statements in the 10-week trial, the courtroom gallery was packed with members of the Muslim community. Many of them travelled 200 kilometres from London, where five members of the Afzaal family were attacked on June 6, 2021.
The Crown is expected to finish closing arguments on Wednesday.
"[The accused] never once touched the brake before impact, a group of human beings. Not once," Ball said. "His driving was precise. His driving was lethal. His driving was intentional. He hit exactly who he wanted to hit, exactly how he wanted to hit, achieving what he wanted to achieve save for [the little boy's] survival."
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The Afzaals were out for an evening walk when they were struck by the accused's pickup truck on a suburban street. High school student Yumnah Afzaal, 15, her mom Madiha Salman, 44, an engineer, and dad Salman Afzaal, 46, a physiotherapist, as well as family matriarch Talat Afzaal, 74, an artist and teacher, were killed. The boy, nine years old at the time, was seriously injured but survived.
Veltman, 22, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, as well as associated terrorism charges. He admits he drove his pickup truck into the family.
Earlier Tuesday, defence lawyer Christopher Hicks told jurors they should find his client guilty of manslaughter, not first-degree murder, which is planned, deliberate and includes the intention to kill.
But in his closing, Ball disputed that. He played the jury the 911 call — presented earlier in the trial — in which the accused said, "I did it. It was me who killed them, so get here and arrest me. I did it on purpose."
The jury doesn't have to speculate about the accused's state of mind because they have hours of footage where he lays out his intentions, Ball added.
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Prosecutors argue the accused was motivated by political, ideological or religious ideas when he drove his pickup truck into the family while they were on an evening walk. They also say he intended to intimidate a segment of the population — Muslim people — which is part of the Criminal Code definition of terrorism.
Veltman, 22, faces four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and terrorism charges. He could get life in prison if convicted.
The attack on the Afzaal family, who were out for a walk, was the deadliest anti-Muslim violence in Canada since the Quebec City mosque shooting in 2017.
Source: Agencies
