Vaughan condo shooting: What we know about alleged gunman Francesco Villi
Villi, 73, shot dead by York Regional Police officer after 5 people were killed Sunday
York Regional Police have identified a 73-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed five people at a condo tower in Vaughan, Ont., on Sunday as Francesco Villi.
Villi was shot dead by a police officer on the third floor of the condo after the killings.
Chief Jim MacSween told reporters on Monday police are trying to determine what motivated the attack at at 9235 Jane St., near Rutherford Road. Homicide detectives have been conducting interviews and executing search warrants, but the investigation will take time, he said.
Here's what CBC Toronto can confirm about Villi at this time:
Villi lived in the upscale Bellaria Residences condo building where the shooting took place. According to court documents, he lived on the first floor of the building, in unit 104.
Police said the shooting rampage began around 7:20 p.m. ET, and that Villi allegedly attacked people in three separate condo units.
According to Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Villi used a semi-automatic handgun, allegedly killing three men and two women. Another woman, 66, currently in hospital, was shot and seriously wounded.
The SIU, which probes all police-involved fatalities in Ontario, said he was shot and killed by an officer in one of the building's hallways around 8 p.m. ET and pronounced dead at the scene.
WATCH | Police identify suspected shooter in condo killings:
John DiNino, a condominium board member named in the court documents obtained by The Canadian Press, told CP that his wife, Doreen, had been shot at the building on Sunday and was undergoing emergency surgery in hospital on Monday.
"It's so overwhelming right now," he said. "We're just hoping and praying."
Police said they were not yet able to release the identities of the five people killed. Three are members of the condo board and all lived in the condo building, police said.
Villi filed lawsuit against condo board members
Court documents indicate that Villi had a long-standing dispute with his condo board.
Villi filed a lawsuit against six directors and officers of the board in 2020, alleging the board members "committed acts of crime and criminality from 2010 onwards." He further alleged the directors had caused him five years of "torment" and "torture" related to alleged issues with the electrical room below his unit.
Justice Joseph Di Luca tossed the case this summer, calling it "frivolous" and "vexatious."
"Mr. Villi believes that the electrical room which sits beneath his unit is improperly constructed, resulting in the emission of electromagnetic waves which have caused him significant pain and suffering over the years," Di Luca wrote in his August decision.
"Mr. Villi believes that the board members of the corporation have actively engaged in efforts to intentionally harm him, likely at the behest of the powerful developer who built the condominium."
WARNING | Photos contain scenes from Vaughan condo shooting:
Board took legal action against suspect
In 2018, the condominium corporation took Villi to court seeking an order to have him cease his "threatening, abusive, intimidating and harassing behaviour toward the board members, property management, workers and residents," legal documents show.
The board also wanted Villi to stop making video and audio recordings of board members and staff and stop posting those videos to his Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Villi countersued and sought damages for $1 million.
In 2019, Justice Paul Perell ordered Villi to not make video or audio recordings of the board's members, management, residents or employees. The judge also ordered Villi to remove social media posts and not make new posts about the court matter, and to only communicate with the board by email or letter.
Villi failed to comply with the court order and the condominium moved to have him held in contempt in September 2021. A judge found he breached the order by speaking to staff members in an "aggressive and sometimes threatening manner."
Villi was set to move on to the penalty phase of the contempt proceedings in April 2022, but the condominium withdrew the hearing after he complied for a few months.
But that didn't last.
Villi allegedly breached the order again soon after, court documents show. The condominium alleged Villi approached and harassed security guards. They said the building lost security guards because of his behaviour.
A number of the residents filed a joint complaint to the condominium about him.
In multiple videos shared on his social media accounts, Villi appeared to comment about the ongoing dispute with his condo.
There were about two dozen posts to a Facebook page for a man named Francesco Villi since the start of December, many featuring videos of the same man talking about his battle with the condo board. In another video, posted Friday, he said he lives in "Hitler's dungeon" and claimed "energy from hydroelectricity" was killing him.
Another post shows an image of what appears to be a doctor's note that reads Villi has a "chronic obstructive lung disease."
The page had a video posted online hours before the Sunday shooting. In it, a man identifies himself, lists the address of the building where the shooting later took place and says that he is a resident of the condo.
The video also shows the man calling a member of the condo board a "monster" and alleging building owners, condo board members, lawyers and judges are conspiring against him.
"Everybody are working to destroy me," he said during the 16-minute video, glasses perched on his nose. "I will never become one of you — liars, demons — never."
Villi said he worked as a home builder for 40 years and immigrated to Canada from Italy with his mother when he was 17.
John Santoro, a resident of the building who said he knew the man, said Villi was a retired building developer who had been in a "long-brewing" dispute with the condo board.
"I think he was someone who was failed by the system," said Santoro outside the condominium on Monday. "For it to get to this level, I don't understand."
Villi was slated to be in court on Monday, however his case wasn't heard due to his death.
The board was seeking to have a judge find him in contempt for violating a previous order to not contact the board, to stop threatening its members and building staff and to cease posting about them on social media.
The condominium wanted Villi gone — it sought a penalty from court to force him to sell and vacate his unit within 90 days, a factum filed in court by the condominium corporation last month said.
Villi never made it to court.
"Mr. Villi passed away yesterday. On consent of the defendants, this action and the counterclaim are permanently stayed," a court document dated Monday says.
With files from The Canadian Press