Police Identify Victims of Vaughan Condo Shooting

The condo building at 9235 Jane Street in Vaughan, Ont., on Dec. 19, 2022, where a shooting on Dec. 18 left six people dead, including the suspect. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

The York Regional Police (YRP) have identified the five victims shot dead in a condo in Vaughan, Ontario, on Dec. 18.

A Dec. 20 press release from the YRP said the victims are:

• Rita Camilleri, 57 (condo board member)
• Naveed Dada, 59 (condo board member)
• Russell Manock, 75 (condo board member)
• Helen Manock, 71 (resident)
• Vittorio Panza, 79 (resident)

A sixth victim, a 66-year-old woman whose name was not disclosed, remains in hospital with serious injuries, the police said.

The 73-year-old male suspect, Francesco Villi, was pronounced dead after an interaction with the police who arrived on the scene at around 7:20 p.m. The shooting took place at the Bellaria Residences, located at 9235 Jane Street, near Rutherford Road.

“The investigation is active and ongoing,” the YRP said.

Flowers are seen at a condo building in Vaughan, Ont., on Dec. 19, 2022. A shooting occurred at the building the previous day, leaving six people dead, including the suspect. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

The Special Investigation Unit (SIU), an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police in cases where a death is involved, has invoked its mandate to look into the incident.

An autopsy is scheduled for Dec. 20, the SIU said in a press release. Four investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case, as well as one “subject official.”

Dispute

The police confirmed on Dec. 19 that three of the victims were members of the condo board, with whom the gunman reportedly had long-standing disputes.

Court documents show that Villi had been involved in confrontations with the condo board, filing a lawsuit against six directors and officers of the board in 2020, and accusing them of deliberately causing him five years of “torment” and “torture” in relation to alleged issues with the electrical room below his unit.

The six individual defendants listed in Villi’s claim were Rita Camilleri, Dino Colalillo, Naveed Dada, Russell Manock, John Di Nino, and Patricia De Sario. Villi demanded a total of more than $8.1 million in payment from the six condo board members for the alleged damages.

That lawsuit was thrown out by Justice Joseph Di Luca, who called it “frivolous” and “vexatious.”

Villi also had disagreements with his neighbours, the court documents show. In October 2019, the court issued an injunction against Villi, ordering that he stop taking photos and video or audio recordings of residents, remove offensive social media posts, and stop communicating with the condo board and staff.

In a scheduled court hearing related to Villi on Dec. 19 in another lawsuit, Global News reported that the judge stayed the matter due to Villi’s death.

Marnie Cathcart contributed to this report.