Pakistan
Islamophobia: PM condemns murder of Canadian Muslim family
Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday condemned the murder of four members of a Muslim family in a suspected premeditated hate crime in Canada.
On his official twitter handle, the Premier wrote, “Saddened to learn of the killing of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario”.
He further added that this condemnable act of terrorism reveals the growing Islamophobia in Western countries.
“Islamophobia needs to be countered holistically by the international community,” the Premier stressed.
As per details into the incident, the attack took place in the city of London, Ontario province where a man struck and killed four pedestrians with his truck in a suspected premeditated hate crime.
The victims including a man (46), two women-aged 74 and 44 along a teenage girl (15) did not sustained injuries and died on the spot.
A 9-year old boy was in hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries, the family’s only survivor.
Police named the alleged attacker as Nathanial Veltman, 20, of London, Ontario. He was arrested without incident at a shopping centre about 6km (4.8 miles) from the crime scene.
The accused, a 20-year old Canadian man has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Det Supt Paul Waight stated, "It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim".