By Canadian Press

‘Good friends do exist’: London attack victims remembered at sentencing hearing

Jan 6, 2024 | 7:03 AM

LONDON, Ont. — A father revered by relatives for his seemingly endless generosity; a devoted mother who persevered through obstacles; a grandmother who painted cartoon characters for her grandchildren and a teenage girl who a friend described as a “giver of hope.”

They were the victims of the deadly attack against four members of a Muslim family perpetrated by a self-proclaimed white nationalist.

Nathaniel Veltman’s killings on June 6, 2021 in London, Ont., have prompted calls for Canada to confront Islamophobia and raised new concerns about the threats of online radicalization. 

But at Veltman’s sentencing hearing this week, attention re-focused on his victims, members of a family that immigrated from Pakistan in 2007 and built a life in Ontario before being run down while they were out for a walk.  

Forty-four-year-old Madiha Salman, her 46-year-old husband Salman Afzaal, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and the teen’s 74-year-old grandmother Talat Afzaal were killed, while the couple’s nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.

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Relatives and friends honoured them through dozens of victim impact statements heard in court this week.   

Salman Afzaal

Salman Afzaal was “the most radiant person, overflowing with kindness that touched the depths of every soul he encountered,” his sister Ayesha Shaukat told the hearing. 

Afzaal was a physiotherapist who worked at a long term care facility in London for nine years before his death. He played cricket with friends several times a week and was a consistent presence at his London mosque. 

His sister said Afzaal had “an infectious smile that could lift the heaviest hearts.”

His cousin Samiya Ahmad told the hearing Afzaal was known for his selflessness. 

“When I was a medical student, he gifted me a stethoscope. At that time, he had just started working and it must have cost him almost a month’s salary,” she said. 

“I cannot ever repay his generosity. My heart can never be as big as his.” 

Madiha Salman

As an undergraduate student in Pakistan, Madiha Salman was the only female student in her engineering program. 

That did not discourage her, Salman’s mother Tabinda Bukhari told the sentencing hearing. 

“She was a problem solver, full of wonderful ideas.”

“She became my best friend as she grew. We had a wonderful bond. We discussed all sorts of things, family matters, house improvements, fashion trends, recipes,” Bukhari said. 

Bukhari was living in Pakistan but has moved to Canada since the attack to be with her family. 

She said she and her daughter talked regularly, including on the day Salman died. 

“Even on the morning of that fateful day, we had a usual video talk. Who knew that would be the last time I saw and talk to her?. I miss her jokes, her laugh, her views about different things.”  

Talat Afzaal

Talat Afzaal was a retired schoolteacher and an artist who mainly painted landscapes until she started producing cartoon characters for her grandchildren.

Her daughter Ayesha Shaukat told the sentencing hearing that her mother had to overcome many challenges in raising her children. 

“Her kindness was boundless. A soothing balm in times of difficulty, a guiding light that enveloped all of us together,” she said. 

“With unwavering strength, she faced challenges with resilience and grace. A woman of grace, compassion, and boundless love the one whom I spoke to every single day, her every single call which I awaited every morning.”

Madiha’s mother Tabinda Bukhari said that Talat became a “dear friend” after their children married. 

“She was a soft spoken, gentle and kind hearted person, admired and respected by everyone who knew her,” she said.

Yumna Afzaal

Several of Yumna Afzaal’s friends from Oakridge Secondary School in London addressed the sentencing hearing, praising her kindness and warmth.  

Maryam Alsabawi said she and Yumna ran for student council together, planned to start a business that donated its profits to charity, and often talked about “our futures, our hopes and our dreams.”

“Yumna was more than a friend to me. She was a confidant, a support system, a classmate, a study partner, a secret keeper, a giver of hope. And most importantly, she was a constant reminder that good friends do exist,” Alsabawi told the court. 

“Not a day passes that I do not think of her. I miss her contagious laughter, her smile, her kindness, her sense of humor. I miss going on walks with her. And I especially miss receiving her 3am texts about the most random things.”

Yumna’s maternal grandmother, Tabinda Bukhari, recalled the joy her birth brought to the family. 

“I remember holding her in my arms,” she said of Yumna. 

“She was blooming into a beautiful young lady with amazing artistic skills,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking that this lovely budding flower was cruelly and ruthlessly crumbled.”

Multiple school friends quoted a phrase written by Yumna on a mural she had painted at school before she died. 

“Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2024.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press