A man driving a pick-up truck slammed into and killed four members of a Muslim family in the south of Canada’s Ontario province, in what police said Monday was a “premeditated” attack.
A 20-year-old suspect wearing a vest “like body armor” fled the scene after the attack on Sunday evening, and was arrested at a mall seven kilometers (four miles) from the intersection in London, Ontario where it happened, said Detective Superintendent Paul Waight.
“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act, motivated by hate. It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim,” he told a news conference.
The names of the victims were not released, but they include a 74-year-old woman, a 46-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl — together representing three generations of the same family, according to London mayor Ed Holder.
A nine-year-old boy was also hospitalized following the attack and is recovering.
“Let me be clear, this was…