Canada Convicts White Supremacist in Killing of Four Muslims

For four seconds, Nathaniel Veltman floored the gas pedal, hurtling his pickup truck toward a Muslim family of five out for an evening walk in London, Ontario, killing four of them. The lone survivor was a 9-year-old boy.

The jury, after less than a day of deliberating, found Mr. Veltman, 22, guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder involving the young boy in the June 2021 attack.

Mr. Veltman was also charged with terrorism and jurors heard extensive evidence about his fixation with white supremacist ideologies. But under Canadian law, jurors were not expected to deliver a verdict on that charge, which will be decided later by a judge.

The case represents the first time in Canada that terrorism charges have been applied to a far-right extremism case, according to the government agency that prosecutes federal crimes.

Mr. Veltman’s sentencing date will be set in December where a judge will determine whether he is guilty of terrorism. A first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole for 25 years.

Following the verdict, Christopher Hicks, a lawyer for Mr. Veltman, said his client was “in shock” because of the long prison term that awaits him.