OTTAWA: A Canadian judge on Thursday gave the killer of four members of a Muslim family in London of the province of Ontario five life sentences in prison, local media reported.
According to CTV News, Nathaniel Veltman, 23, was found guilty in November of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk on June 6, 2021.
Talat Afzaal, 74, her son Salman, 46, his wife Madiha, 44, and their 15-year-old daughter Yumnah were all killed while their then nine-year-old son was seriously injured, the report said.
Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance gave Veltman four life sentences for the deaths of four members of the Afzaal family. She also delivered a life sentence for the attempted murder conviction of the Afzaal’s then nine-year-old son, bringing the total to five life sentences in prison, CTV News reported.
“I have chosen not to name the offender nor recite the hateful statements that he shared with police or in his manifesto. This is because his actions constitute terrorist activity,” Pomerance was quoted as saying in CBC News report.
According to CBC News, the case served as a test of how Canada’s terror laws apply to white nationalists.
The murder convictions carry an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, CBC News added.
