Trudeau: 'Terrorist attack' killed 4 Muslim family members

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that the killing of four members of a Muslim family in Ontario was a "terrorist attack".

"Their lives were taken in a brutal, cowardly and brazen act of violence," Trudeau said in a speech in the House of Commons. "This killing was no accident. This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities."

According to police, five members of the family were out for a walk Sunday evening in London, Ontario, when a 20-year-old local man driving a pickup truck mounted a curb and intentionally hit them.

Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and Salman's 74-year-old mother were killed, while Fayez Afzaal, 9, survived and is recovering from "serious injuries", according to a statement released by the family Monday.

The driver, Nathaniel Veltman, has been arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Police said the family was targeted over their Muslim faith. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair called the attack "an act of hatred and of terror" on Tuesday.

The latest statistics show that there were 349 hate incidents against Muslims in Canada reported to police in 2017, the year of the Quebec City mosque shooting, when a gunman killed six people, a 151 percent increase from the 139 reported in 2016.

However, according to Statistics Canada, about two-thirds of hate crimes across the country go unreported, which was a common thread throughout the prime minister's remarks in the House on Tuesday.

Trudeau said he was "horrified" by the attack and that his government stands in solidarity with the victims' loved ones.

"This is unfortunately not an isolated event," Trudeau said. "So many other people across the country who faced insults, threats and violence, they were all targeted because of their Muslim faith. This is happening here in Canada and it has to stop."

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole said he grieves with Muslim communities across the country because they have experienced such pain before.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Canada must acknowledge that an urgent threat to public safety comes from extreme right-wing ideology, white supremacy and hate groups that radicalize people, adding that there must be resources to address such dangers.

"The reality is our Canada is a place of racism, of violence, of genocide of indigenous people. … Muslims are not safe in this country," said Singh.

Trudeau pledged that Canada will continue to fund initiatives such as the security infrastructure program to help protect communities at risk and their schools and places of worship.

"We'll continue to fight hate online and offline, which includes taking even more action to dismantle far-right hate groups," he said.

US Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota wrote on Twitter on Monday that the killings are a "cruel reminder" that anti-Muslim hate is "deadly and alive in the West".

"We must all speak out against it and prosecute these violent hate crimes against Muslims vigorously," she said.

Melita Gabrič, the ambassador of the delegation of the European Union to Canada, tweeted Tuesday that she was "shocked" at the violence. "We stand united with Canada, committed to the freedom of religion and worship," she said.

A vigil for the family was scheduled for Tuesday night at the London Muslim Mosque. Hundreds are expected to attend, including Trudeau and all federal party leaders.