Police identify vaughan condo shooting victims, ranging in age from 57 to 79

Barrie360.com
Dec. 21, 2022
Fakiha Baig

The five victims of a shooting at a Toronto-area highrise, three of whom were members of the condo board, ranged in age from 57 to 79, police said Tuesday.

York Regional Police said Rita Camilleri, 57, Vittorio Panza, 79, Russell Manock, 75, Helen Manock, 71, and Naveed Dada, 59, were killed at their condominium on Sunday.

A 73-year-old condo resident, Francesco Villi, used a semi-automatic handgun to kill five people and injure one other, then was shot dead by a police officer who tracked him to the third floor of the highrise, authorities have said.

The surviving victim with serious injuries is 66-year-old Doreen Di Nino, who was identified by her husband and condo board president John Di Nino.

Court documents involving a man with the same name and building address as Villi indicate a lengthy history of threatening members of the condo board.

Three of the people killed Sunday night, Rita Camilleri, Russell Manock and Naveed Dada, appear to be those named as defendants in a court ruling from July that dismissed Villi’s accusations against the condo board members as “frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process.” 

Residents of the condo complex said Tuesday that they were coming together to support one another while processing what had happened.

Bouquets of flowers had been placed in the snow near the entrance of the upscale highrise where the shooting took place. A forensic identification unit truck was parked by the main doors, where police tape could still be seen.

Resident Patricia Acara said she has been checking in regularly with fellow residents and staff.

“We’re trying to get through this,” Acara told The Canadian Press through tears as she stood outside her building. “We’re going to stick together as a community. I think we’re going to become a lot closer.”

Acara, who lives in the highrise beside the one where the shooting took place, said many residents evacuated from their units on Sunday night were brought over to her building.

She said she brought food and drinks down as the evacuees crowded her building lobby because she wanted to help.

“I brought down a whole plate of fresh fruit, some cookies, snacks for the little kids, a case of water. It would have helped them throughout the night because a lot of them did have to stay here throughout the night,” she said.

Acara said the shooting has weighed heavily on her mind.

“My husband, myself, my brother and one of my friends … we go down, we make sure that the concierge is OK. They said it was very scary. They’re hanging in there,” she said.

Resident Antonio Damuno said he was still shaken by what happened after hearing gunshots in his building on Sunday night.

“I’m so sorry for everybody,” Damuno said while crying.

Mayor of Vaughan Steven Del Duca said he asked facilities across the city to lower their flags to half-mast until further notice in memory of the victims.