UN chief calls killing of Muslim family in Canada ‘heinous attack’

New York: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that he is “appalled” at the murder of a Muslim family in a targeted car crash attack in the Canadian province of Ontario and calls upon the world to stand united against such hatred.

“I am appalled by the targeted and heinous attack on a Muslim family in Ontario, Canada,” Guterres said in a statement. “My heart goes out to the victims, surviving family and loved ones – and the community. We must stand united against Islamophobia and all forms of hatred, now more than ever.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the car crash in the Canadian city of London in Southwestern Ontario, calling it a “terrorist attack motivated by hatred,” in a statement in the House of Commons in Ottawa.

On Sunday evening, a pickup truck plowed into a family killing four and leaving one surviving victim in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said the perpetrator, Nathaniel Veltman, 20, acted with intent and has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder.