In opening statements of Nathaniel Veltman's trial, federal prosecutor Sarah Shaikh told the court that anticipated evidence will show that the accused left his house on June 6 to look for Muslims to kill with his pick-up truck.
Shaikh set out a roadmap of evidence to be presented that will include Veltman’s statements to police on the day of the attack, 911 calls, photos of truck after the attack, and documents found on Veltman’s computer including his own manifesto which he called "A White Awakening."
All of the evidence will be presented to the jury over the next eight weeks.
The trial was initially estimated to last 12- 14 weeks however the jury was told of the change in the estimated time Monday morning.
In an agreed statement of fact, both the crown and defence said that the Afzaal family were out for a walk in the area of Hyde Park Road and South Carriage Road in London, Ontario on the night of June 6, 2021. It is also agreed that Veltman drove by the family travelling north on Hyde Park and did a U-turn to travel back to the intersection. The truck was then steered toward the right, striking the family.
Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Afzaal, and Salman's 74-year-old mother Talat Afzaal were killed. A now 11-year-old boy is the only survivor of the collision.
Veltman pled not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
In her opening statements, Shaikh said Veltman made statements to police that included, "I killed a bunch of people, I was planning on killing. I knew what I did, I don't regret what I did. I admit that it was terrorism."
The first witness called in the case was a family member who described his family as a "peace loving Muslims." He was not in London at the time of the crash.
The second witness was a London man who established he saw the family walking down the street before being struck by the truck. He called 9-1-1 and stayed on scene to give his statement to police.
The final witness of the day, Viktor Poc, is a civilian member of the London Police Service. He was responsible for seizing surveillance video from nearby businesses.
Videos showed the truck travelling down Hyde Park northbound and then southbound around 30 seconds later.
A second video shows the same truck, driving into Cherry Hill Mall's parking lot with severe front end damage.
Poc's testimony will continue on Tuesday.
