73-year-old man in bitter dispute over Ontario condo kills board members in fight against 'demons'
Police say three of the five people killed were members of the condo board, though authorities are not yet able to release the identities of the victims
Vancouversun.com
Dec. 20, 2022
Adrian Humphreys
The man shot by police after killing five people inside his condominium building north of Toronto was engaged in a bitter dispute with his condo board and left behind an angry video declaring he “did not have to do this” but wanted to punish “demons” who failed to allow him a night’s comfort in his home.
The gunman was formally identified by police as Francesco Villi, 73, a resident of the large condominium complex. Police said three of his victims were members of the condo corporation board.
The shooting Sunday evening happened at a residential complex in Maple, Ont., that boasts of being a luxury, gated complex with a security guard on site.
In a video posted at 2:13 p.m. Sunday, Villi, in faltering English, blames those involved in the condo building for what was about to happen.
“I did not have to do this. If you would have give me some comfort in my home, that’s all I want, comfort in my home. Why’s it been denied? For seven years. Why? You bastards all of you,” he said.
In a court filing, Villi alleged the condo board conspired to rob him of “rest and sleep for over 5 years.”
The dispute began in 2010, he claimed in legal papers, and it escalated to the condo board seeking to restrain him from threatening, abusive and intimidating behaviour towards the officers of the board.
He sued almost precisely two years before the shootings -- on Dec. 15, 2020 -- seeking more than $6 million in damages and restitution and an order for the corporation to complete a list of repairs.
His case was reaching a climax, with a series of legal losses.
He was offered a date for an arbitration hearing for Monday, the day after the shooting.
A judge rejected his lawsuit this summer, calling it “frivolous” and “vexatious,” but it remained a point of unrelenting contention. There were appeal attempts and accusations that Villi breached the court order by posting about it on social media.
“I am a righteous person. I walk the will of God,” he said in one of a series of videos posted to social media. “When you walk the will of God you enter into a lot of bad things in this world because there too many demons.”
He threatened “the monster, the main demon in this building.” Police did not say if the woman he named was among the victims.
In a series of videos over the last few days, he displays increasing fatalism, frustration, anger and religious fervour. The videos include speaker phone conversations with a law firm.
He said in the videos he has lung cancer and will die soon.
“What can they do? Take my body? Take it, I could not care less.
“But never, never you will have my soul. I will never become one you, liars, demons. Never.”
Villi used a semi-automatic handgun and went to three different units on different floors in his building, where police later found his victims.
One victim, a 66-year-old woman, survived and is in hospital.
Police have not released the names of the victims, pending notification of family members, but said three men (including Villi) and three women were killed.
Three of them were members of the condo board, said York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween, who said officers arriving at the condo tower “were met with a horrendous scene.”
Police were called around 7:20 p.m. to 9235 Jane St., near the intersection with Rutherford Road, for a shooting in progress, according to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which probes police shootings.
“There was an interaction between an officer and the armed man in the building. The officer fired his gun and struck the man. Paramedics were called and the man was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the SIU said.
When officers are involved in a police shooting, the incident must be investigated by the SIU, limiting what details the responding police service can release publicly.
While the SIU investigates the police shooting of Villi, York police’s homicide unit will investigate the other shootings.
Villi, who emigrated to Canada from Italy when he was 17 years old, said the roots of his trouble are in the building being constructed close to a hydroelectric station.
He claims the condo turns off the air circulation system in his building on weekends but because his unit is close to the electrical room, he feels he can’t breathe.
He claimed he had “no air to breathe” and had been sick for months -- years, he said at other points -- and claimed he had scheduled lung cancer appointments in another video.
A woman answering the phone at the condo’s office said she could not talk about the matter and refused to provide contact information for what she said were four property management companies running the building. She gave a number of someone else in the building, but that number was not in service.
Villi said he used to find respite by going to Woodbine casino to spent his nights two or three times a week, but he lost that chance because of COVID restrictions in the pandemic.
The Bellaria Residences is a condominium complex of three towers built in 2008 in the community of Maple in the city of Vaughan, less than a kilometre down the road from Vaughan Mills, a large shopping mall, and about 30 kilometres from downtown Toronto.
The towers reach 16 storeys with suites ranging from 599 to 2,010 square feet, according to real estate listings.
Real estate listings show a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,200 square foot apartment with a wraparound balcony currently listed for a million dollars. Another listing from earlier this year is for a one-bedroom apartment with a bathroom and a parking space for $699,000.
Photos show a large and grand hotel-style entranceway and lobby with marble-style flooring and a large fireplace mantle inside.
The city of Vaughan lowered its municipal flags to half-staff Monday in response to the deaths.
“I offer my condolences to the families of the victims killed in the shootings,” Steven Del Duca, mayor of Vaughan, said in a statement. “I want to recognize the brave first responders who are working to safeguard the situation.”
Prime Minster Justin Trudeau along with Minister of National Defence Anita Anand posted about the incident on Twitter.
Police say the investigation is active and ongoing. An autopsy on the alleged gunman is scheduled for Tuesday.
In his court claim, Villi alleged “Acts of Crime and Criminality” starting in 2010 and that the condo board conspired to specifically cause him harm, pain and suffering, including to his physical and mental health.
He also claimed an additional $250,000 from each defendant for “abusively abusing” their power on the condo board.
The law firm he was speaking with on the phone did not immediately return a call from National Post requesting comment.
In the videos he complains of an inability to find justice. He accused lawyers, judges, criminals and others of conspiring against him. He claims he submitted hundreds of pages of evidence and only one page was represented in court.
“I dedicated my life to love and respect. And I fought criminals from young and I will fight criminals as you are for as long as I am alive,” he said in a video.
“I cannot change the world. Not even God can change the world. God will destroy the world and rebuild the world, very soon. All you blind people can stay in agony for eternity.
“I have nothing more to say.
