LONDON, Ont. - A local faith leader says Nathaniel Veltman's sentencing hearing will be a time to reflect on the ways the deadly attack on an Ontario Muslim family has reverberated through a community.
Abd Alfatah Twakkal, who chairs the London Council of Imams, says he expects the sentencing hearing will feature accounts of the emotional, physical and spiritual impacts of Veltman's attack directly from the victim's family, friends and community members.
The Imam says the killing of four members of the Afzaal family must be a moment of decisive action to ensure cities are safe havens for people of all backgrounds "for the sake of our common humanity."
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.
His trial was heard in Windsor, Ont., but the sentencing proceedings including the delivering of victim impact statements - will be taking place in London, where the attack took place.
Forty-six-year-old Salman Afzaal; his 44-year-old wife, Madiha Salman; their 15-year-old daughter, Yumna; and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were killed, while the couple's nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.