'I'm just gonna tell you': Accused in terrorism-motivated murder talk to London police

The Superior Court in Windsor has released the video of two police interviews with Nathaniel Veltman in the hours after the Afzaal family was attacked.

WARNING: Contains graphic content

On June 6, 2021, a black pickup truck was driven into the family of five who was out for an evening walk on Hyde Park Road in London, Ont.

Four people died – representing three generations of the family, and a fifth family member, a nine year old boy was seriously injured.

Court heard grandmother Talat was pronounced dead at the scene while her son Salman, his wife Madiha and their daughter Yumnah all died in hospital a short time later.

Veltman, 22, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of terrorism-motivated first-degree murder and one count of terrorism-motivated attempted murder.

London Police Service Det. Micah Bourdeau testified in a Windsor courtroom for more than two days, to show the jury the video-taped recording of his two interviews with Veltman.

The first was conducted between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on June 7, while the second was conducted around 10 a.m. that morning.

Over the course of the interviews, Veltman not only admits to his actions but provides reasons for them.

“I’m gonna be honest about what I did,” he told Bourdeau. “I’m not planning on pleading insanity.”

Veltman told police he became interested in politics when he turned 18 and “went down a rabbit hole,” uncovering what he believed was underreporting of Muslim on white crimes by “the media.”

“Often they won’t report it as a hate crime, they just report it as murder,” he told Bourdeau. “I was ready to throw my life away for what I considered to be the greater good.”

Veltman said he was so consumed with anger, “I’m gonna commit a terrorist attack,” he explained to Bourdeau.

On numerous occasions, Veltman is given the opportunity to speak with a lawyer and he declines, telling Bourdeau “eventually” he will speak with one.

The jury heard Veltman did speak with a duty counsel lawyer for 11 minutes before the first police interview.

Defence lawyer Christopher Hicks spent two days cross-examining Bourdeau, questioning when and how the interviews were conducted.

He believes there were “alarm bells” that should have been picked up on by Bourdeau that Veltman was not in the right state of mind to speak to police.

In each instance, Bourdeau disagreed, arguing there was an urgency to speak with the accused, he was repeatedly offered the chance to speak to a lawyer, was given food and water and given time to sleep between the first and second interviews.

Bourdeau did admit Thursday Veltman was “quieter,” less talkative and more thoughtful in the second interview than the first.