The gunman who shot dead five people at a condo building outside of Toronto had spent years harassing residents and threatening the condo board, according to reports.
Francesco Villi, 73, was identified by authorities as the shooter in the Sunday night incident in which three men and two females were fatally shot.
Villi, who was shot and killed by police at the scene, had fought the condo board in court over his belief that living above the upscale building’s electrical room was making him sick.
In a Facebook video post on the day of the shooting, Villi accused the board members, lawyers and judges of “torturing” and “abusing” him.
“Everybody are working to destroy me,” he said during the 16-minute video. “I will never become one of you — liars, demons — never.”
Police say that three of the victims, who have not yet been formally identified, were members of the condo’s board.
Villi had lost a string of lawsuits against the building, and in 2019 the condo board filed a restraining order against him for harassing residents.
According to CBC, 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 alleged the directors had caused him five years of “torment” and “torture” related to the electrical unit.
In 2021 he was found in contempt of court for harassing residents and continued to post on Facebook despite a court banning him from doing so.
Justice Joseph Di Luca threw out Villi’s lawsuit earlier this year, calling it “frivolous” and “vexatious”.
This year the company that owns the condo building asked a judge to impose a jail sentence on Villi and force him to sell his unit in it.
One victim of the shooting is still in the hospital Victim in the hospital is the wife of the building’s condo board president and is expected to survive.
The victim in the hospital is the 66-year-old wife of John DiNino, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Canada, a union spokesperson told CBC.
Mr DiNino was inside his apartment when his wife was shot, according to his spokesperson. He issued a statement saying that it was a “very difficult time for my family.”
Police say that the victims were shot with a semi-automatic handgun and that the violence started at 7.20pm on Sunday night with people attacked in three separate condo units.
John Santoro, who previously served on the condo board, told reporters at the scene that Villi was “not a monster”, and believed the elderly man needed “professional” help.
“I commented to my wife several times [that] it’s going to end very badly,” he said.
Vaughan mayor Steven Del Duca called the shooting a “horrific act” and offered condolences to the families affected.
“I know that we all sincerely hope for a speedy recovery for the individual who was wounded, who we believe is recovering,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ontario premier Doug Ford called the attack an act of “senseless violence”.
Villi was due to appear in court on Tuesday but following his death, the case has now been permanently stayed.
