How do the authorities know within hours of the incident, that the victim and the killer didn't know each other?

My guess is that they report it as a hate crime because there’s evidence indicating it was a hate crime. If the evidence was inconclusive, or pointing in a different direction, they’d say that instead.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/what-we-know-about-nathaniel-veltman-the-man-charged-in-the-london-ont-attack-1.5462221

All information such as perpetrator wearing body armor and found near the scene of the attack and background information on him ( from his records :ID on him and Fb searches and interviews with employer and employees deduce his full identity)

Then they do a complete online search as well as interview neighbors, friends, associations and so on to determine his state of mind and possible reasons that made him commit this crime.

My opinion :

Since he had numerous friends of variety of races I think they should look at road rage as

another reason for his outburst of hatred. Although the smoking gun was that fact that he

wore body armor on the scene points to hate involved.

But within a few hours. Probably x, or probably that, is not evidence based conclusion. Why the rush? “We’re still investigating, it’s way, way too early to tell” etc.
@sadiesayit What makes you say that?

@Inspired_2write How does body armour indicate hate crime toward a protected group?
And his colleagues at work and some others have been saying good things about him.

It could be road rage, salesperson/customer, it could be one of various kinds of one time interaction…There maybe he/she’ll confess that is what led…. Then what will they say?

“the victim and the killer didn’t know each other” – - – usually means they were not related by blood or marriage. . . !

@flo
Body armor implies a fight to ensue.( its protective gear ) .
Its not a normal thing that a normal person would wear.
Unless he worked in security and if he did ( he didn’t0 he would take it off BEFORE driving in
his car in a neighborhood.

@Inspired_2write How does it indicate hate toward a protected group, necessarily? Someone who is planning to mass shoot (and some of the ones who have may have worn body armor) school, a concert former workplace, ....could wear a body armour. Not necessasarily to do with protected group

@flo
No one knows what was going through his head at the time but hopefully it will come out soon.
Its like the response of a angry person coming home after an incident and the cat meows, so the person takes it out on the cat instead.( opportunistic time to vent)?

Yes, it could be any number of things. So, to just immediately declare what it is about, is not evidence based.