What we know about the accused Vaughan mass shooter

A 73-year-old man suspected of killing five people in a mass shooting at a Vaughan, Ont. building had a long history of legal disputes with the condominium board and was set to appear in court the following day, documents show.

Late Sunday night police arrived at a building near Jane Street and Rutherford Road to find multiple people fatally shot. The victims, police said, were found on multiple floors.

Investigators have said that three of the five people who died were members of the building's condo board.

The suspect, who police have identified as Francesco Villi, was shot and killed by police following an interaction. They say he used a semi-automatic handgun.

• Timeline of what we know about the Vaughan, Ont. shooting

Few details have been provided regarding the motive for the shooting, but court documents show Villi was engaged in multiple legal actions against the condo board. Here’s what we know so far:

Villi was a resident on the first floor of the building where the shooting took place. A neighbour said he had been living there for over 10 years.

In 2019 the courts ordered Villi not to make any video or audio recordings of the condo board’s members, employees or residents of the building. He was also ordered to refrain from posting on social media about matters before the court and to only initiate communications with the condo and employees in writing in the case of an emergency.

Court documents allege Villi had made numerous defamatory videos, photographs and comments on social media, and that the board had received numerous complaints from residents regarding his aggressive behaviour.

Villi then sued the condominium corporation in June 2019, alleging oppressive conduct. He claimed disputes with the board began due to complaints about vibrations coming from the electrical room under his unit. In court documents he argues the issues were affecting his health.

The lawsuit was dismissed in August 2022, with Justice Joseph Di Luca calling it "frivolous” and an “abuse of process.”

The courts later found Villi in contempt of court for violating the earlier restraining order. He was ordered to pay the condominium $29,500 in 2021; although the penalty was withdrawn when he began cooperating with the court order.

In 2022, the condo board took Villi to court yet again, arguing that he failed to comply with previous court orders and that he should be directed to move out of his unit within 30 days.

The motion came after legal counsel for the condo board sent Villi a “final warning” at the end of June, giving him 48 hours to remove all Facebook posts and videos related to the dispute.

In the court documents, the board alleged that in April of this year Villi began breaching his court orders yet again and was harassing residents by swearing at them and taking photographs of them without their permission.

The president of the condo board also alleged Villi has been accusing members of engaging in fraud and other criminal activities in public.

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"Mr. Villi says the Board is trying to poison him or kill him by refusing to fix problems with the electrical room beneath his unit. These problems do not exist," John Di Nino said in an affidavit.

Di Nino said he has heard complaints from residents as well, with one person saying Villi called her a demon while another said he was surveilling people outside.

According to Di Nino's affidavit, Villi said on Facebook that if he were to die, the condo board would be solely responsible.

Villi was set to appear in court on Dec. 19. In light of his death, the court has put an end to the proceedings. 

With files from CTV News Toronto's Sean Leathong and Jon Woodward