Six people, including the 73-year-old suspect, died Sunday night after a shooting at an apartment building in Vaughan, Ontario. York Regional Police, north of Toronto, were called to the scene 7:20 pm The suspect was later shot dead by a police officer in a hallway of the Jane Street building at around 8:00 pm.
Police identified the shooter as Francesco Villi, a resident of the building. He is said to have killed five people – three adult men and two women – on different floors of the building with a semi-automatic pistol. A 66-year-old woman survived the shooting. The police have yet to identify the victims. “It was a horrific scene,” said York Area Police Chief Jim MacSween. “The cop who shot him probably saved lives,” he said.
According to the police, three of the victims were members of the board of the homeowners’ association, who did not confirm the motives for the crime. Police have also not confirmed whether the three board members have died. However, court documents show the man believed council members plotted to harm him. “Mr. Villi believes that the electrical chamber beneath his unit is poorly designed and that radiated electromagnetic waves would cause him significant pain,” read a decision.
Board member Tony Cutrone felt guilty about being alive after the tragedy. “I don’t know how to feel,” he said. The real estate agent does not live in the building but owns a unit where his mother lives. “My mother is devastated, but she is fine,” he explained. Francesco Villi attended the building’s Christmas party on December 8, according to Tony Cutrone. “When he arrived we thought he was going to cause trouble but he wasn’t. Some people shook hands with him,” he explains.
Multiple problems
The suspect is well known to residents, said Assad, a resident of 9235 Jane Street who was in his unit with his young child at the time of the shooting. “Some people had good or bad things to say about him, in his opinion. He was unhappy,” the resident recalls. According to Tony Cutrone, the board had trouble keeping contract workers for the building because the 73-year-old was harassing them. “He harassed everyone who entered the building,” Cutrone said.
The cop who shot him probably saved lives
In a video still available on his Facebook account, Francesco Villi claims that hydroelectric power is killing him. “I’m in danger,” he says. During a phone conversation with a law firm, he claims that 95% of humans are demons. In 2019, the court ordered the man to stop posting videos of various court cases involving him and the board of his apartment building. In September 2021, the man was found guilty of contempt for communicating with a condominium employee.
More and more arguments in the apartments
Franco-Ontarian lawyer Rod Escayola, who specializes in housing law at Gowling WLG, argues that disputes between landlords and their boards have “swelled and escalated” in recent years. According to the lawyer, one of the reasons for this is the widespread radicalization in society.
“I’ve seen situations like this where the owner annoys the board. It’s often someone who’s not doing well,” he explains. “Perhaps councils are not equipped to respond to all of this? »
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the Canadian government.