Last week, on June 6, 9-year-old Fayez Salman was left orphaned after a man hit his family with a truck in London, Ontario in an alleged anti-Muslim hate crime. Now, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated to support his future.
On Tuesday (June 8), a close friend of Salman’s family launched a GoFundMe campaign for the boy, and since then, it’s earned more than $850,000 Canadian dollars in donations.
“This gofundme campaign is one of many ways the Pakistani community in London can support each other in the face of the hatred our community has undeservedly received in this instance and countless others,” reads the description for the fundraiser. “The horrific nature of the crimes perpetrated against the Salman family serve as a reminder of the long shadow of Islamophobia that is cast on the lives of peaceful Muslim families across the world.”
Police in Canada say that a 20-year-old White man named Nathaniel Veltman drove over a curb and ran into Fayez and his family. Four of Fayez’s family members died, and he was the only survivor. Veltman has since been arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for the crimes, and the London Police Service says they’re looking into potential terrorism charges against him.
According to The Hill, Detective Supt. Paul Waight has said that while they know that the attack had been planned, they have not yet determined whether Veltman was part of any hate groups.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on the attack while addressing The Parliament earlier this week.
“This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities,” he said. “If anyone thinks racism and hatred don’t exist in this country, I want to say this: How do we explain such violence to a child in a hospital? How can we look families in the eye and say ‘Islamophobia isn’t real’?” You can visit the GoFundMe page for Fayez here.