HistoryData
general2021

2021 killing in Canada

June 6, 2021

Canada's deadliest attack on Muslim Canadians, resulting in the country's first terrorism conviction in a murder trial.

Quick Facts

Year
2021
Category
general

Key Facts

Date
June 6, 2021
Perpetrator
Nathaniel Veltman, age 20
Killed
4 people
Wounded
1 person
Sentence
Five terms of life imprisonment
Verdict
4 counts first-degree murder, 1 attempted murder

By the Numbers

62,021
Date
20
Perpetrator
4people
Killed
1person
Wounded

Location

Map of London, Ontario, CanadaMap of London, Ontario, CanadaLondon, Ontario, Canada

Cause → Event → Consequence

Cause

Nathaniel Veltman, a 20-year-old man, targeted a family of Muslim Pakistani Canadian pedestrians in an act later ruled to constitute terrorism under Canadian law, motivated by anti-Muslim hatred.

Event

On June 6, 2021, Veltman deliberately drove a pickup truck into a Muslim Pakistani Canadian family at an intersection in London, Ontario, killing four members and injuring a fifth. It was the deadliest mass killing in the city's history.

Consequence

Canadian and Pakistani leaders condemned the attack as terrorism. Veltman was convicted in Canada's first murder trial involving terrorism charges and sentenced in February 2024 to five consecutive life terms, establishing a significant legal precedent for terrorism prosecutions in Canada.

Timeline Context

Timeline around 202120212018201920202022202320242020 Summer Olympics — games of the XXXII Olympiad, in Tokyo, Japan, held in 2021UEFA Euro 2020 — 16th men’s European association football championshipEurovision Song Contest 2021 — 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest2020 Summer Paralympics — 2020 edition of the Summer Paralympics2021 Formula One World Championship — 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship2021 Taliban offensive — 2021 military offensive by the Taliban causing the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan2021 Copa América — Edition's XLVII Copa AmericaFootball at the 2020 Summer Olympics — association football practiced at the 2020 Summer Olympicslondon-ontario-truck-attack-2021