Accused killer of Muslim family explains in put up-arrest rant his rationale for truck attack in London, Ont.

Kate Dubinski · CBC News

· Posted: Sep 15, 2023 1:36 PM EDT | Closing Up-to-the-minute: September 15

Warning: This memoir contains distressing facts.

In the hours after his truck attack on a Muslim family in London, Ont., the accused killer told police his anger at minority teams started with online study about politics and Donald Trump’s election for U.S. president, and spiralled down a “rabbit gap” that ended in anger and rage he may well perhaps no longer ignore.

On Friday, the finish of the first week of proceedings, the jury at Nathaniel Veltman’s homicide-dread trial in Ontario Superior Court docket in Windsor watched video pictures of his statement to police a pair of hours after the attack on the Afzaal family. 5 family contributors were struck by the accused’s pickup truck while out for a late-evening stroll on June 6, 2021.

“I admit it used to be terrorism. It used to be terrorism — I admit it. I’m now not going to ascertain out to gain a lighter sentence that it used to be lawful homicide,” the accused told Det. Micah Bourdeau lawful after 2 a.m. ET, extra than 5 hours after the attack, according to the video proof.

The 22-Three hundred and sixty five days-weak is charged with four counts of first-stage homicide and one depend of tried homicide, as wisely as associated dread costs. He has pleaded now not guilty.

“I was a ticking bomb, ready to head off. It may perhaps perhaps well perhaps handiest stagger on for goodbye before I did something,” he told Bourdeau.

Yumnah Afzaal, 15, her folks, Madiha Salman, 44, and Salman Afzaal, 46, and family matriarch Talat Afzaal, 74, were killed. A boy who used to be nine years weak on the time survived.

Prosecutors divulge they were centered consequently of they were wearing feeble Pakistani clothing and were Muslim.

On the time of his arrest, the accused used to be wearing a white T-shirt with a plentiful dark unpleasant drawn or painted on the entrance and relief. He told the detective it used to be a “meme or comic memoir” that is “intended to agree with a examine fancy a crusader shirt.” Asked by the detective to explain the comic memoir, the accused mentioned, “Presumably later.”

Politics Accused’s recommendations before the attack

The accused told Bourdeau he started getting interested in politics when he turned 18 and began following the 2016 presidential election.

“That is when I realized that the media is plentiful dishonest and from that point on, straight down the rabbit gap I went,” the accused mentioned. His “study” brought him to tales about crimes committed against white people by minority teams that he believed were covered up.

He described how he turned into fixated on a debunked conspiracy belief involving Muslims and the sexual assaults of younger women.

“In all in fact, I may presumably blame the Western governments for what befell. You may well perhaps dispute, ‘Or now not it is your fault, Nate, you selected to commit violence.’ However they by no contrivance left me any favor… I feel in unhappy health to my belly after what I did, however they leave me no favor.”

Before he left his condominium that evening, he regarded up information about European white nationalist committing a crime against Muslims as “motivation,” he mentioned.

“When people fancy me attain something fancy this, it inspires other indignant white men to attain the identical thing. I may presumably by no contrivance agree with done something fancy this if it wasn’t for others that did an identical things.”

Veltman mentioned he blamed “Western governments” that agree with taken away his genuine to divulge the views he holds against minorities and to peacefully tell, forcing him to commit violence. “They gain it so there may be never one of these thing as a other consequence rather than violence,” he mentioned in the interview captured on video.

The day before the attack, the accused mentioned, he used to be unhappy and took psilocybin (tablets known as shrooms or magic mushrooms), then felt in unhappy health on Sunday, however went to work at an egg farm in Strathroy anyway. On his force home to downtown London, he passed a community of Muslims and made up our minds that it used to be time to behave.

“I believed, ‘Presumably now may well perhaps be the time to ship my message.'”

It used to be a message he had been planning for three months, the accused told the detective. He additionally mentioned he wasn’t affiliated with any divulge some distance-genuine community, calling his actions a “lone-wolf attack.”

He mentioned he knew the Azaal family contributors were Muslim “consequently of of their apparel.” He knew there were kids among those he hit, however his attack “had to be brutal” to ship a “robust message,” the accused mentioned.

That interview ends rapidly before 4 a.m. so the accused can gain some sleep after which breakfast. It resumes lawful before 10 a.m., when the accused appears to be like groggier and fewer willing to share information with Bourdeau.

“I think I’m in shock. I make now not know if I will explain it,” he mentioned. “I’m trying to win myself. I’m now not definite I will dispute unheard of extra than that genuine now.”

Veltman refused to repeat the detective whether he sold the pickup truck frail in the attack namely for that cause, or why he went to Hyde Park in the set aside of the attack that evening.

Politics The agreed info

Earlier in the trial, which started with jury favor final week and officially started proceedings Monday, the Crown and defence attorneys agreed on a host of info that may well perhaps now not be argued. They include that the accused drove the dark Dodge Ram pickup truck into the Afzaal family, striking all 5 contributors.

Data from the truck reveals he instructed toward the family 5 seconds before impression and his accelerator pedal used to be 100 per cent compressed.

After the smash, he drove erratically toward Cherryhill Mall, the set aside he pulled into the parking lot and approached a cab driver waiting for calls, court has heard. Police arrested Veltman in the parking lot of the mall.

The trial, which is predicted to final eight weeks, continues Monday.