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TORONTO — The man accused of killing four members of a Muslim family in an alleged act of terrorism in London, Ont., told a jury Monday that he drove to Toronto a day before the attack to explore the possibility of targeting Muslims in that city. 

On the stand in the Windsor, Ont., courtroom where his trial is taking place, Nathaniel Veltman gave a detailed description of his actions leading up to the June 2021 attack that left four members of the Afzaal family dead and one seriously injured.

Veltman said he was feeling an urge to commit an act of violence in the days before the attack and he took a road trip from his apartment in London to explore the possibility of attacking Muslims in Toronto.

"I was so agitated and didn't feel right in the mind," he said. "I was thinking, 'Why don't I think about committing an attack in the future.'" 

The 22-year-old said he put on a bulletproof vest and military-style helmet when he was driving to Toronto, and he saw a group of Muslims who seemed around his age walking around in the city and felt an urge to run them over. 

"As soon as I saw them, I instantly was hit with this massive wave of panic and nausea," he said. "I felt an urge to step on the gas and I started panicking and my heart started beating faster and I turned around." 

Veltman said he then left the area as fast as he could, heading back to London. He said he arrived in his apartment around 2 a.m. on June 6, 2021. He went to bed later and then got up to drive to his job at an egg factory, where he worked from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. 

Before court adjourned for the day, Veltman said he was driving around London after work.

Veltman is accused of deliberately hitting the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk in the city that evening, and prosecutors have alleged his actions amount to an act of terrorism. 

He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Salman Afzaal, 46; his 44-year-old wife, Madiha Salman; their 15-year-old daughter, Yumna; and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were killed in the attack, while the couple's nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.

Jurors have previously seen video of Veltman telling a detective that his attack had been motivated by white nationalist beliefs. 

The Crown has argued that Veltman planned an attack for three months before driving his Dodge Ram truck directly at the family.

Veltman's case is the first where Canada's terrorism laws are being put before a jury in a first-degree murder trial.

Veltman had told the jury last week that his mind was "corrupted" by online conspiracy theories and that he eventually developed a desire to engage in an act of violence.

He said his mental state deteriorated during the pandemic, and he began consuming more online content that included unfounded conspiracies about COVID-19 and Muslims. 

"This content started to warp my view of the world," he said last week. "It was starting to cause this seething anger."

The trial is set to resume Tuesday. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2023.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press