Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday called the killings of four members of a Muslim family a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred.
The victims were killed when a pickup truck driver intentionally plowed into the group in London, Ontario late Sunday.
Their lives were taken in a “brutal, cowardly, brazen act of violence,” Trudeau said in an address to the House of Commons. “This killing was no accident.”
The deceased are a 74-year-old woman, a man, 46, a woman, 44 and a 15-year-old girl.
Another family member, a boy, 9, was also struck and he is in a hospital in a serious but non-life-threatening condition.
Nathaniel Veltman, 20, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, said police.
“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act and that the family was targeted because of their Muslim faith,” according to London Police Detective Inspector Paul Waight at a news conference on Monday.
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