Sombre anniversary: The Afzaal tragedy and its connection to the Riverside crash
It was exactly six months ago that a beloved London family was taken down in what police say was a deliberate attack.
“We still haven’t healed from what transpired,” said Imam Abd Alfatah Twakkal, a faith leader in London’s Muslim community. “There’s a lot of healing that needs to be taking place because of the level of that trauma that our community had experienced.”
On June 6, Salman Afzaal, his wife Madiha Salman, their daughter Yumnah Afzaal, and Salman Afzaal’s mother Talat Afzaal were killed when they were run down by a pickup truck. Twenty-two-year-old Nathaniel Veltman of London has been charged in connection with the incident. The family’s nine-year-old son Fayez survived the attack and was treated in hospital.
At that time Twakkal consoled community members and acted as a spokesperson for local Muslims.
He found himself in a somewhat familiar situation last Tuesday night, when by chance he was travelling on Riverside Drive just after a vehicle struck 10 pedestrians, including several children. He said he comforted victims until emergency crews arrived.
“I immediately got down from the car and I went to see if there’s any help that I could offer for the people and the children that had experienced that. I only wanted to offer as much comfort as I could for the people that were in that situation. And then emergency crews arrived, and hats off to them. They did a tremendous job as they always do.”
Eight-year-old Alexandra Stemp died from her injuries in the crash, which police have said was not intentional, though the investigation is ongoing.
The circumstances in the two tragedies six months apart may be very different, but the one thing that they have in common is the devastation they left behind for the victims, the families and the community.
Those close to the Afzaal family are still in mourning, but young Fayez is doing better, according to Nawaz Tahir, who chairs a Muslim advocacy group called Hikma.
“In general, physically he’s doing well,” said Tahir. “We expect a full recovery. And he’s obviously surrounded by a lot of extended family that are showing an outpouring of love to him. Psychologically he’s got a long way to go to process the magnitude of what happened to his family.”
Tahir said Fayez has returned to school where he is said to be doing well.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.