Terrorism charges were filed on Monday against the suspect accused of killing four members of a London, Ontario, family in what police have called a targeted attack on Muslims, Global News reported.
The suspect, Nathaniel Veltman, was already facing first-degree and attempted murder charges. The new charges allege the attack was an act of terrorism.
Federal prosecutor Sarah Shaikh told the court the deputy director of public prosecutions had approved charges last Wednesday alleging the killings constituted terrorist activity.
The attempted murder is also being prosecuted as terrorism, she said.
The development came after the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team was brought in to assist with the investigation into the June 6 vehicle ramming.
A spokesperson for the victims’ family said they were following the news of the terrorism charges, but their main concern was the 9-year-old survivor, who has now been released from hospital.
There have been several attacks targeting Muslims in Canada in recent years, the most-well known of which being the shooting attack on the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec in 2017, in which six worshipers were killed.
The Quebec City shooter, Alexandre Bissonnette, was described after his arrest as a white supremacist opposed to Muslim immigration but not affiliated with any group.
Last year, Bissonnette’s sentence was reduced to 25 years in prison when a Canadian court ruled it was unconstitutional for him to serve consecutive life sentences