Muslim community hosting vigil for 2nd anniversary of deadly London, Ont. attack
Posted June 6, 2023 7:24 am.
Last Updated June 6, 2023 11:18 am.
Members of the Muslim community in London, Ont., are to host a vigil today to mark the second anniversary of the worst mass killing in the city’s history.
Salman Afzaal, his wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were run down by a pickup truck on June 6, 2021.
The couple’s nine-year-old son was seriously hurt.
RELATED: Family speaks out ahead of 1st anniversary of hate-motivated attack in London, Ont.
Prosecutors allege the attack was an act of terrorism targeting London’s Muslim community. Nathaniel Veltman, who was 20 at the time of his arrest, faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
He is set to stand trial in September.
Maryam Al-Sabawi, who is 16 years old and was friends with Yumna, is helping to organize the vigil and says the theme for this year is “resilience.”
The event begins at 7 p.m. in London. Mayor Josh Morgan, Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, and members of the Afzaal family are among those expected to speak at the vigil.
