Terrorism Charges Filed Against Driver in Muslim Family Assault in Canada

Canadian prosecutors announced on Monday (June 14, 2021) during a brief session at the London courthouse in Ontario that terrorism charges have been filed against the suspect involved in the vehicle attack that resulted in the deaths of four members of a Muslim family on June 6. Four counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder were initially charged against the suspect, Nathaniel V. (20 years old), during an earlier hearing last week following the attack, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as a "terrorist act." The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (federal police) stated in a post-hearing statement that "prosecutors at both the federal and provincial levels agreed to proceed with terrorism-related charges, considering that the murders and attempted murder also constitute terrorist activity." The young man, who has no criminal record and does not belong to any extremist organization, has not appointed a lawyer yet. At the time of his arrest, he was wearing a jacket resembling a bulletproof vest. According to the London Police Service in Ontario, Nathaniel V. deliberately targeted a family with his pickup truck in a "premeditated and planned act of hatred." Five members of the same family were struck while waiting to cross the road in London, 200 kilometers southwest of Toronto. The parents, their 15-year-old daughter, and the grandmother were killed, while their nine-year-old son sustained serious injuries.