2022 Vaughan shooting

On December 18, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at the Bellaria Residences condominium tower in Vaughan, a suburb north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Six people were killed, including the gunman, 73-year-old Francesco Villi, who was shot and killed by responding police officers.[2] Another person was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

2022 Vaughan shooting
Part of mass shootings in Canada
LocationBellaria Residences, 9235 Jane Street, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43.8331606°N 79.5327636°W / 43.8331606; -79.5327636
DateDecember 18, 2022 (2022-12-18)
c. 7:20 p.m[1] (EST)
Attack type
Mass shooting
WeaponBeretta 92A1 semi-automatic pistol
Deaths6 (including the perpetrator)
Injured1
PerpetratorFrancesco Villi

Shooting

Officers responded to a report of an active shooting at an apartment building in Vaughan at around 7:20 p.m. Upon arrival, they discovered multiple victims.[3] The building, known as Bellaria Residences,[4] is located at 9235 Jane Street.[5] The victims were found on several floors in the building, after the gunman appeared to target three separate units. The gunman was located on a separate floor from the victims.[6]

The gunman, Francesco Villi, was identified as a resident of the building and used a Beretta 92A1 semi-automatic handgun which he legally purchased in 2019[7]

Victims

All of the victims were residents of the building.[6][8] The dead comprised three men and two women.[8] They were Rita Camilleri, 57, and her husband Vittorio Panza, 79; Russell Manock, 75, and his wife Lorraine, 71; and Naveed Dada, 59.[9]

A 66-year-old woman was also seriously injured and hospitalized. Camilleri, Russell Manock, and Dada were members of the condominium's board of directors.[10][11]

Perpetrator

Police identified the gunman as 73-year-old Francesco Villi, who was killed by police in a hallway on the third floor of the building.[8] Some of the building's residents claim that Villi had been involved in a disagreement with the condominium's board of directors.[12]

Villi stated he was becoming sick by the electromagnets coming off the electrical generator he lived above and was suffering from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. He had a medical note from his doctor.[13]

Court documents also show that Villi sued six directors and officers of the condominium board in 2020, alleging that the directors had deliberately caused him five years of "torment" and "torture", with reference to an electrical room beneath his apartment.[14] He sought a total of C$8,100,000 in damages. The judge struck the case in 2022, ruling that it was "frivolous and/or vexatious". He also gave Villi 30 days to pay $2,500 in court costs.[15][14]

The condominium's board had obtained a restraining order against Villi in 2018.[16] He was due to return to court on December 19 as the board sought to have him evicted for being a nuisance.[14]

In response to the shooting incident, Villi's three estranged daughters issued a statement expressing their condolences, and also their shock and heartbreak at what had happened. They described their father as having "an aggressive, 'Jekyll and Hyde'-type personality".[17]

Aftermath

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit have investigated the shooting and determined that there was no criminal wrongdoing by any police officers involved.[7]

As a result of this and other incidents, sweeping reforms in the condominium industry are being called for.[18]

Condolences were offered by Vaughan mayor Steven Del Duca and Ontario premier Doug Ford. Del Duca also ordered all flags to fly at half-mast at all city buildings. Prime minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement offering his condolences and his thanks for the response of first responders.[2][6]

Over 150 people attended a candlelight vigil to the five victims, on the evening of December 21.[19]

References
  1. "Toronto shooting: gunman kills five in residential unit". the Guardian. December 19, 2022. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  2. Yousif, Nadine (December 19, 2022). "Vaughan condo shooting: Gunman who shot dead five in Canada was 73". BBC News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  3. Croft, Elizabeth Wolfe,Tavleen Tarrant,Jay (December 19, 2022). "5 people killed in a 'horrendous' condo shooting in Canada, police say". CNN. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Vaughan condo shooting: Three victims were members of the condo board, gunman identified as 73-year-old resident". The Toronto Star. December 19, 2022. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  5. "MULTIPLE VICTIMS DECEASED IN SHOOTING IN VAUGHAN". York Regional Police. December 18, 2022. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  6. Freeman, Joshua (December 19, 2022). "Vaughan mass shooting: Three victims were members of condo board". CP24. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  7. "Special Investigations Unit -- Director's Report Details, Case Number: 22-OFD-319". siu.on.ca. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  8. "Victims in Vaughan, Ont., mass shooting include 3 members of condo board, police say". CBC. December 18, 2022. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  9. "Remembering the lives lost in the Vaughan condo shooting rampage". CTV News Toronto. December 21, 2022. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  10. Freeman, Joshua; Lavoie, Joanna (December 19, 2022). "Three of 5 people killed in Vaughan, Ont. were members of condo board, police say". CTV News Toronto. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  11. "Editorial | Seeking answers from tragedy". The Star. December 22, 2022. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  12. "Three of 5 people killed in Vaughan, Ont. were members of condo board, police say". Toronto. December 19, 2022. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  13. Millward, David (December 20, 2022). "Pensioner killed neighbours in row over electromagnetic waves in flats". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  14. Baig, Fakiha (December 19, 2022). "Condo board members among five victims in Vaughan shooting, police say". The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  15. Passafiume, Alessia; Warren, May; Pagliaro, Jennifer; Javed, Noor; Powell, Betsy (December 19, 2022). "Vaughan gunman, 73, feuded with condo board over 'electromagnetic waves.' Victims include three board members". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  16. "Vaughan condo shooting: What we know about alleged gunman Francesco Villi". CBC. December 19, 2022. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  17. Omstead, Jordan; Casey, Liam (December 21, 2022). "Estranged daughters of Vaughan condo gunman say he was 'abusive husband and father'". CBC News. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  18. Escayola, Rod (December 8, 2020). "Auditor General's Scathing Report on Condo Industry in Ontario". Condo Adviser. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  19. "More than 150 attend candlelight vigil for victims of Vaughan, Ont., condo shooting rampage". CBC. December 21, 2022. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
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