Francesco Villi was identified as the mass shooter who police say murdered five people at a condominium complex in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada.
York Regional Police wrote in a press release that five victims are dead, and a sixth is in serious condition. “We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families,” said Chief Jim MacSween in the release, adding there is no further threat to public safety.
According to CBC, police identified Villi as the 73 year old suspect.
Some of those murdered were members of the condo board, with whom Villi had a long-standing dispute that spilled into courtrooms. He left rambling videos and social media posts maligning the board members, calling one a “monster.”
Villi is deceased.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Call Came In as an Active Shooter Incident
FacebookFrancesco Villi
York Regional Police wrote that the five victims were killed in an “active shooter incident at a condominium building located at 9235 Jane Street in the City of Vaughan.”
On Sunday, December 18, 2022, at approximately 7:20 p.m., police “were called to a residential building located on Jane Street, north of Rutherford Road, for a report of an active male shooter who had shot several victims,” the release said.
“When police arrived, an interaction occurred between the officers and a male subject and the subject was shot. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. York Regional Police has notified the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).”
The Emergency Response Unit “has conducted a thorough search of the building to ensure there are no additional victims and that it’s safe. A police presence will be on scene as the investigation continues,” police wrote.
2. Three of the Victims Were Members of the Condo Board
FacebookFrancesco Villi
According to CBC, Villi lived on the first-floor of the “upscale Bellaria Residences” condo building.
He shot and killed people in three different condos in the building, the news site reported. Three of them were condo board members.
According to CBC, the gunman shot three men and two women with a semi-automatic handgun. An officer shot and killed Villi, CBC reported.
Villi had a long-standing dispute with the condo board that ended up in court, the network reported.
3. Villi & the Condo Board Filed Warring Lawsuits in a Long-Standing Dispute
FacebookFrancesco Villi
According to CBC, Villi filed a lawsuit against board members in 2020, alleging the board members “committed acts of crime and criminality from 2010 onwards.”
He said the board caused him “torment” and “torture” because of “issues with the electrical room below his unit.” The case was dismissed as “frivolous,” CBC reported.
“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,” Justice Joseph 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.”
It didn’t stop there. In 2018, the condominium went to court against Villi, accusing him of “threatening, abusive, intimidating and harassing behaviour toward the board members, property management, workers and residents,” CBS reported.
Villi filed a counter suit. But in 2019, a judge ordered him not to make video or audio recordings of board members.
He was accused of contempt.
4. ‘I Love Humanity in General Even When They Hurm Me,’ Villi’s Misspelled Twitter Profile Reads
Villi had a Twitter page with 22 followers.
“I LOVE HUMANITY IN GENERAL EVEN WHEN THEY HURM ME AND I ASK THE LORD JESUS GOD TO BLESS THEM AND TO GIVE THEM KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS 🌠❤💓🌻🌎🌻” it read.
Almost all of the tweets link back to Facebook videos Villi shared.
According to CBC, “Villi said he worked as a home builder for 40 years and immigrated to Canada from Italy with his mother when he was 17.”
According to the Toronto Sun, in one of the videos on his social media pages, Villi claimed snot on his face had “burned his skin and was the result of the electricity in his condo unit.”
5. Villi Posted Rambling Statements on Facebook
On December 18, 2022, Villi posted a rambling statement to his Facebook page, painting himself as being discriminated against and tormented:
×÷=(+_)🌍🌠❤where’s Justice when you need
Freedom of Speech expression Liberty Rights
SHIRLEY RIGHTON LLP LAWYERS, WHO Are all of you to Dine all my Civil rights in my own home Unit 104; And to manipulate the justice JUDGE and lying to the justice Judges without any Scruples as you have no fear of the Judge; all of you have abused me Francesco Villi discriminate And Torment Torture me for years for self interests and Gains to Support Benny Marotta and Giuseppe Paolicelli, this is Criminality, VIDEO FOR THE JUSTICE JUDGES TO LISTEN AND REVIEW IMPORTANT 📖💔📖
The writer it’s Sane with Visions of morality fv.
In a video with the message, he said that a woman didn’t want to know “my truth” and didn’t want to talk to him. He called another person a “monster, the main demon in this building.”
According to his Facebook page, Villi studied “From Vazzano – Vibo – Italy at the toronto streetside university” and “went to Alimentary Vazzano Italy.”
He listed himself as “Owner and Operator at Toronto Ontario.”
The victims have not been identified.
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