The man who opened fire and killed five people at a condo building in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday has been identified by local media as 73-year-old Francesco Villi.
Villi was shot dead by police at the building in Vaughan, Ontario, after launching a violent rampage against members of its condo board — with whom he apparently had a longstanding dispute.
Villi, who also lived in the building, reportedly went door to door targeting specific residents from the board who he felt had done wrong, and he had targeted his condo board in lawsuits spanning years, according to the Toronto Star.
Police have not shared an official motive behind the “horrendous” crime, but will hold a press conference Monday afternoon. The local police have also declined to identify the gunman at this time, due to their ongoing investigation.
“Horrendous scene,” said Chief James MacSween of the York regional police Sunday evening. “Six deceased. One of them is the subject. The other five are victims.”
The chief said there was no further threat to the community and the police were hoping to get residents back into the building after a special unit’s investigation is concluded.
Mass shootings are incredibly rare in Canada, and Toronto has long been considered one of the safest cities in the world.
After a gunman shot and killed 22 people in Portapique, Nova Scotia, in 2022, Canada banned over 1,500 models of “assault-style firearms and components, and has set further limits on the types of bullets it allows.
