Gunman in Canadian mass shooting had feud with condo board; 3 of 5 victims board members, police say

Usatoday.com
Dec. 20, 2022
Natalie Neysa Alund

Five people were killed and another person was injured Sunday night when a 73-year-old man opened fire at a condominium building outside of Toronto, authorities said.

Investigators said there was a long running dispute between the gunman, identified as Francesco Velli, and condo board members, but Chief James MacSween of the York Regional Police said police are still investigating the motive.

“Three victims were members of the condominium board,” Chief James MacSween of the York Regional Police said at a news conference Monday.

Police were initially called to the scene about 7:20 p.m. Sunday in response  to a report of a gunman who had shot several people at a building in Vaughan, a city just north of Toronto, according to a York Regional Police news release.

York Regional Police tactical officers work the scene of a shooting in Vaughan, Ontario, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Police said multiple people are dead, including the suspect, after a shooting in an apartment building.
"When police arrived, an interaction occurred between the officers and a male subject and the subject was shot," police wrote in the release.

The shooter was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Officers found a “horrendous scene where numerous victims were deceased,” MacSween said.

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween updates the media at the scene of a shooting in Vaughan, Ontario, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Authorities said multiple people were shot and killed in a "horrendous" condominium unit in the Toronto suburb and the gunman was killed by police.
Officers found five people dead and another suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The survivor, a 66-year-old woman, was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive, according to police.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit spokesperson Kristy Denette said police found the victims on different floors.

Resident John Santoro said police went floor to floor to try to find out if anybody else was involved.

“When I opened my door, police were in the corridor. There were two officers right outside my door in the elevator lobby,” he said.

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York Regional Police tactical officers work the scene of a fatal shooting in Vaughan, Ontario Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022.  Authorities said multiple people were shot and killed in a condominium unit in the Toronto suburb and the gunman was killed by police.
Investigators said Velli long claimed vibrations and emissions from the building’s electrical room were making him sick, and that board members and the building's developer were to blame, court documents show.

Mass shootings are rare in Canada, and Toronto has long prided itself as being one of the world's safest big cities.

“Everybody is horrified,” Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca said. “To wake up to this news this morning or see it last night, we are in absolute shock. This is something I never thought I would see here.”