According to international media, The 22-year-old accused allegedly crashed a car into Salman Afzal’s family in June 2021.

The accused left their nine-year-old son critically injured and killed Salman Afzal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna, and their 74-year-old mother Talat Afzal.

The accused was charged with murder, attempted murder, terrorism, and hate crimes following the incident, and he was arrested immediately after the accident.

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The incident shocked and saddened Canadians as well as Pakistanis, calling to fight Islamophobia.

The Afzaals were well-liked members of the neighborhood when they moved to London from Pakistan in 2007. Salman worked as an elder care physiotherapist. Madiha was a PhD candidate who worked as a writer and civil engineer.

The London Islamic School bears a floor-to-ceiling space-themed mural painted by Yumna, who was a painter, that read, “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Known as the “pillar” of the family, Talat taught art and was also a beloved teacher.