Canadian man accused of killing Muslim family motivated by white nationalism, court hears

Families pay their respects on 8 June 2021, at a makeshift memorial near the site where a man driving a pickup truck struck and killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario, Canada. Photograph: Nicole Osborne/AFP/Getty Images

The man accused of murdering four members of a Muslim family was motivated by white nationalist beliefs and was out to commit an act of “terrorism”, prosecutors have argued, during opening statements of a closely watched murder trial that could reshape how Canada prosecutes far-right extremism.

Nathaniel Veltman, 22, is facing four charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder after driving his truck into five members of the Afzaal family while they were out for a walk in London, Ontario, on the evening of 6 June 2021.