Heartbreaking words were shared in court by the family of the Muslim family killed in an attack in London as the sentencing for the man found guilty continued Friday.
The heart wrenching words of the young boy who was the lone survivor of the brutal attack that claimed the lives of his parents, sister and grandmother were read by his relatives while Nathaniel Veltman watched emotionlessly.
“The offense has made me very sad at the fact that I can’t talk to my family anymore and make new memories with them. Because of the offense I was not able to live in the house which I used to…the offense has caused me to break one of my legs and fracture my collar bone. I will have to get the metal plate in my leg removed and I will have to learn how to walk again.”
Attorneys for Veltman say he is paying close attention to what is happening in court as he listened to the grief-stricken victim and community impact statements from over 70 people who loved and were touched by the Afzaal family.
The 23-year-old was convicted last November of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for intentionally running down the family with his truck in London.
Five members of the Afzaal family, 44-year-old Madiha, her 47-year-old husband Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumman and her 73-year-old grandmother Talat died on June 6, 2021 while they were out for a walk.
Canadians across the country held memorials and community members were given the opportunity to share statements in court.
Ali Chabar, the general counsel for the Thames Valley District School Board spoke on behalf of the students and staff in London schools and said children in the board’s schools have especially suffered from these murders.
“We have students as young as 4-years-old and as old as 18-years-old in our system and they are all dealing with the trauma and grief in their own way and so within our system we have teachers and support and counsellors that even two and a half years later are still dealing with the aftermath of the attacks on the Afzaal family.”
Local police say the murders were motivated by Veltman’s hatred for Muslims.
On the four murder charges, Veltman will serve life-in-prison without parole eligibility for 25-years.
He has yet to be sentenced for the attempted murder charge and it hasn’t been determined at this time whether the crime is legally considered terrorism.
