Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says London, Ont. truck attack 'clearly an act of terror'
Police are considering terrorism charges but have not announced any yet
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair confirmed on Thursday that police are investigating the deadly hit-and-run attack in London, Ont. as an act of terrorism.
"The events that took place on Sunday were clearly hate-motivated. They were clearly racist and they were clearly an act of terror," Blair said in an interview on CBC's Power & Politics.
"I can confirm that this is being actively investigated as a terrorist act by the police authorities."
On Sunday, four people — Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Afzaal and Salman Afzaal's 74-year-old mother — were killed when a pickup truck drove into them as they were walking. The youngest member of the family, Fayez, 9, survived.
Investigators in London say the driver of the truck, 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, targeted the family because they are Muslim.
He has so far been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
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