- 6 weeks ago
Imagine there’s banging on your door. What you don’t realize is that the person on the other side of the door has a gun. For residents of a Vaughan condo building, just north of Toronto, it was a night that changed their lives forever in one of Canada’s worst mass shootings. Reporter Catherine McDonald covered the story back in 2022 and spoke with the only shooting victim who survived, along with her husband who fought off the gunman. She returns now to meet the first responders who helped save their lives.
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00:00This program is rated 14-plus and contains scenes of violence and mature subject matter.
00:08Viewer discretion is advised.
00:17Okay, we've got help on the way, okay?
00:22We've already got the call.
00:24Third floor, shots fired.
00:25Third floor.
00:26Ten floor.
00:28Third floor, shots fired.
00:30Just an absolute chaotic scene here in Vaughan.
00:33Police believe that the shooter was going from one unit to another.
00:36People feel that what happened here is simply beyond comprehension.
00:45Welcome to Crime Beat.
00:47I'm Anthony Robart.
00:48Tonight, it was the deadliest mass casualty event in the history of Ontario's York region outside of Toronto.
00:55Five people gunned down in cold blood in the sanctity of their own homes.
01:00Now, for those who survived and still carry the memories, it was a night that would forever alter the course of their lives.
01:07Here now is Catherine MacDonald with a knock at the door.
01:14Well, it was Sunday night.
01:18It was right before Christmastime.
01:20So, we'd all just started our shift for the night.
01:24And then the call came in just after 7 p.m.
01:27Dispatch 41-55, 41-45, 46-25, 44-25 for an active shooter in the 42-9-2-3-5 Jane Street.
01:39Its building is tower number two.
01:41I'd pulled it up on my computer screen in the car and highlighted with stars was active shooter, which is the first time I've seen that.
01:52Also working that night over at headquarters was Mark Hilliker.
01:57On December 18th, I was the acting inspector in the real-time operations center.
02:02We are the triage center for all nine-ohning calls.
02:05The first call came in from someone in the penthouse.
02:12911, do you need a police fire ambulance?
02:14Starting at about 7.20 p.m., a caller reported that a shooter was in the building and had shot a woman.
02:20After the complainant left, the 911 caller heard another gunshot.
02:24The suspect is gone.
02:25There's a female that's been shot.
02:28We advise the male has a revolver as per complainant.
02:31Right away, it was very apparent that it was an active shooter and that that shooter was on the loose, on a rampage, and needed to be stopped.
02:39The fear within the building, I can't imagine.
02:43The entire team was now on high alert.
02:46Sir, where is the shooter?
02:47Okay, did you see the gun at all?
02:48It's one thing they teach us in training every time we hear a gunshot that could be someone's life.
02:52The longer you wait, the more lives could be lost.
02:55I've been shot.
02:56You've been shot?
02:57Yeah, I've been shot.
02:58Okay, where are you?
03:01What's your address?
03:03I'm sorry.
03:05Tell me your address.
03:07With every call, more details were revealed about the horror unfolding at the luxury condominium building.
03:17RTOC staff, Sergeant Hilliker.
03:18We're being inundated with calls for service for weapons calls at the same location of people dying, people deceased, multiple gunshots being heard.
03:26We also received phone calls from others who aren't in the building, but the people in the building are calling their family members, saying their shot's being fired.
03:35911, do you need a police fire ambulance?
03:37I want you to stay hidden as best you can, okay?
03:40Do you think he's in your apartment?
03:41911, call number three.
03:44A third call came in at 7.22pm.
03:47A man requested an ambulance for his wife, who had been shot.
03:50The complainant had a revolver.
03:51I need a fire ambulance.
03:53Your wife's been shot.
03:55911, call number four.
03:57The fourth call came in at 7.25pm.
04:01A caller asked for police because someone was shooting.
04:05The complainant had gone to another specified apartment after she closed her door.
04:09The caller had heard gunshots.
04:11I remember pulling up and seeing all the police lights and police cars on James Street.
04:16When we responded, we weren't quite sure how many shooters there were.
04:22We didn't know what weapons were being used besides a gun.
04:24We didn't know if it would be an assault rifle, a handgun, a shotgun.
04:27When I actually entered the building, you could hear the audible fire alarm going off.
04:32Any active shooter incident, whoever gets there first goes in.
04:40You don't wait for anybody.
04:42You don't wait for a partner.
04:43You go in and you deal with the threat.
04:46Three units attending.
04:47Elevators are not working.
04:48Fire alarm is going off.
04:50It's very typical in your active shooters that they pull the fire alarm to muffle the sound of the gunshots.
04:54But that also causes some challenges as people want to leave the building and there's more targets for your suspect to shoot.
05:03There was two stairwells on each side of the building.
05:05Any officer that arrived just picked a stairwell to go to.
05:09We had no information as to where the suspect was.
05:12Shootings and the killings started on the penthouse through the reports of them anyway.
05:15So we would send contact teams in, starting on the ground floor and moving up.
05:20The minute you hear the gunfire, then you go towards the sound of the gunfire.
05:23We got a brief description from the victim we knew was an older gentleman.
05:28Again, at that time, we didn't know how many shooters there were.
05:32A lot of the residents in the building had no idea what was going on.
05:35We had to confront everybody that we encountered just to make sure that they weren't armed.
05:41At that point, I'm listening to the communications air.
05:45So I'm hearing the officers and what they're doing.
05:48They're airing, where they're going.
05:50Delta 403 showing up on flames.
05:53And so the sergeant happens to be on one of the contact teams.
06:01He's going floor to floor looking for the suspect.
06:04The sergeant agreed to speak with us on the condition that we not reveal his identity due to privacy concerns.
06:11He has never spoken publicly about that night.
06:15The sergeant comes across the air saying he's come across the suspect on the third floor who's armed with a handgun.
06:32I saw a gentleman on the third floor near the apartment.
06:35He was standing there trying to fiddle with the door, trying to get it open.
06:38I called out to him to make sure he went back into his apartment.
06:41It was the suspect.
06:43He turns around and he says, oh, police.
06:45F***ing police.
06:46He had a firearm on his hand, his right hand.
06:50And I says, please don't move.
06:51Please don't move.
06:52I put my firearm at him.
06:54And he was screaming and yelling over the sound of the fire alarm going off.
06:57Yelling up, I couldn't hear what he was saying.
06:59I was told him, stop.
07:00Drop the gun.
07:01Drop the gun.
07:02Stop the gun.
07:0310, 4, 6, I got on the other floor.
07:06Drop the gun.
07:07Drop it.
07:09What's the room number?
07:10Sir, drop the gun.
07:12Can we give me a location?
07:13So at that pause there, my heart's skipping a beat.
07:21It feels like time stops, actually.
07:23Everything goes slow.
07:26And then he hits his Officer Needs Assistance button.
07:30You can hear that on the air.
07:31The alarm goes off and then it's silence.
07:38And that's the nerving part for everyone because we don't know what's going on.
07:43And usually silence on a critical call.
07:45Action's on.
07:46And we don't know who's being shot, who is shot, who's injured, and what's happening.
07:51I tried to talk to him.
07:52So I tried to say, you know, why are you doing this?
07:55What are you doing?
07:56Drop the gun, please.
07:57Drop the gun.
07:57He said, no, I don't want to.
08:00I'm not going to drop the gun.
08:01He seemed angry.
08:03There was no reasoning with it at all.
08:04And so I was ready for him to attempt to fire at me.
08:084, 6, shots fired.
08:09We have okayed.
08:1110, 4, shots fired.
08:26Welcome back to Crown Beats.
08:28An active shooter is on the loose in a high-rise condo building in Vaughan, Ontario, north of Toronto.
08:34An officer on the third floor has found himself face to face with the shooter.
08:41We now return to Catherine MacDonald and a knock at the door.
08:473rd floor, shots fired.
08:493rd floor.
08:5010th floor.
08:513rd floor, shots fired.
08:53He was right in the middle of the hallway, standing there, staring at me.
08:57I was probably about 15 to 20 feet away from him.
09:00I backed up a bit toward the entrance.
09:02If I had to leave quickly or not.
09:04He wouldn't listen to any of that.
09:05He was just yelling.
09:06I don't know what he was yelling.
09:08Moaning.
09:09He raised his hand toward me.
09:12The handgun shot.
09:134 shots.
09:143 or 4 times the shot.
09:164 shots.
09:18I got one down.
09:19One down.
09:20Mail party down?
09:2210, 4.
09:22No, I shot him three times.
09:24Mail shot three times.
09:25Unknown injuries.
09:26Is he awake and breathing?
09:28And then he comes across the air advising that he has shot the suspect and that he needs
09:33additional assistance.
09:35When I shot him, I saw the bullet hit his shoulder, his chest area.
09:41Then he turned and I probably fired him one or two more times.
09:45I don't know if I hit him.
09:47The autopsy says I hit him twice.
09:49I shot four shots, but I hit him twice.
09:51And he stumbled up to the side against the wall and he moaned and crumbled to the ground
09:56and went on his side.
09:58And then he said it went down.
10:00One down.
10:02I'm okay.
10:03Can someone confirm if any officers have been injured?
10:05She's trying to probe for more information because he's there at this point alone.
10:11So other officers came down the hallway.
10:14I saw my firearm pointed at the man who was down on the ground waiting for them to come
10:19by.
10:19And then I put my firearm away, turned him over, and we started doing CPR.
10:23I did CPR for about 25 seconds and then a female officer took over.
10:26And I remember walking around the corner and I saw the gun on the ground and then I saw
10:30the suspect laying on his back and officers were actually attempting CPR on him.
10:36Like it had happened so recent that when I actually entered the third floor, you could
10:40still smell the gunpowder.
10:41And for the injured male, is he awake and breathing?
10:45Yes, 46, he's at 9.
10:50So the officers actually picked up the suspect and carried him down the stairs out to the
10:55paramedics that were waiting out front.
10:57On the way back to the station, they said he was deceased over the air.
11:03He did have ammunition in his pocket, so we believe there may have been more people
11:08that he was targeting.
11:09That's when I found out later he was hunting, he was at that door, trying to get into that
11:13door to shoot that person inside behind that unit.
11:16So I'm calling the deputy chief to advise them of everything that has transpired.
11:21And as I'm talking to her, we get another shooting on the fifth floor within the same building.
11:274631, just to confirm, we have an additional call coming in from penthouse numbers advising
11:32they can hear crossfire.
11:34What was happening was that neighbours were coming out of their units after hearing
11:39gunfire and then silence.
11:41They would then discover their neighbours murdered.
11:45They would call us, but say it had just occurred.
11:48An additional challenge was that people were being shot in similar numbered units.
11:534216, we found another victim inside 16.
11:5510-4.
11:5610-4, another victim found inside 16.
11:59Confirming that's 16, not 16.
12:01We started finding the victims that had been shot.
12:04There was an officer that was with the security desk of the condo building.
12:08And we started providing unit numbers as to where the victims were located.
12:12And that's when we started to piece together that they were all condo board members.
12:16But as that's going on, we get a call on buttermilk, but it's Highway 7 in Jane.
12:22And at this point, the suspect from that shooting is dead for 11 minutes.
12:26Dispatch to 11.35 and 15.35 as well as PS.16.
12:30If you start making your way down to Vaughan to 7.
12:32So we get a second shooting at a condo building at Highway 7 in Jane in that area,
12:38where the information was that the penthouse exterior windows were shot out,
12:43whether that was a sniper or someone with a long gun or whatnot.
12:46And the occupant and the owner to that unit was a condo board member.
12:51The parallels are identical.
12:52And the suspect description of the second shooting was different.
12:55And so that, for me, is when this whole call gets far more complex.
12:59Because we now have multiple suspects, multiple locations,
13:05a coordinated attack on an identified group,
13:09and could be expanding elsewhere.
13:12The complainant just keeps saying that he heard a loud bang
13:15and his windows are broken.
13:17While en route to the call, we did hear on our police radio
13:20that there was another call coming in.
13:22And we advised that the first weapons call that's ongoing in Vaughan
13:25was also at a condo building.
13:27And what we heard was that there's been a shooting
13:30at another high-rise condo in Vaughan.
13:32You know, you're just thinking of, okay, how big this could be.
13:35Described as 5'7 tall and wearing a black jacket.
13:38Delta 2 and C-1-1 District of Laughan.
13:41Thankfully, it was very quickly determined that there was no shooting,
13:44and the two calls were not related.
13:47It wasn't penthouse number 10.
13:49It was actually townhouse number 10, which made more sense.
13:51So it's on the ground floor.
13:53It was a person who used a rock to smash the window.
13:56It had nothing to do with the fact that he was a condo board member.
14:00Having confirmed that this other incident was unrelated,
14:04homicide detective Dave Gill could focus his attention
14:07on the scene at the Bellaria condo residences.
14:11Upon arriving, he was briefed with the latest.
14:14A lone shooter had been shot by the police,
14:18and he was pronounced deceased at the time.
14:21Our officers had identified a unit that was within that condo building
14:25where this male lived.
14:27Then you kind of have to start thinking if his condo is maybe be we trapped,
14:33or if there's something waiting for police once we get into his unit.
14:37They had cleared that unit, and I was told that our emergency response team
14:42was going door-to-door to clear the rest of the building
14:46to make sure everybody was safe and there was no other shooters.
14:49There was no further shots fired on the call,
14:52and we had been on the call for a significant amount of time.
14:54So we were satisfied that there's no more shooters in the building.
14:57So that is the information that's given to me,
15:00and this is around 8.30 when I get to the scene.
15:0321-45, we're going up to the victim first.
15:06She's been shot in the mouth.
15:08And we do have EMS staging at Rutherford and Jane's.
15:11Police had also finally made their way up
15:14to Doreen and John De Nino's top-floor penthouse suite.
15:18I need to know if the police are outside my door or it's the gunman.
15:22Please exit with your hands up, okay?
15:23Please exit with my hands up?
15:25Yeah.
15:25My door is shut, sir.
15:27Hands up, sir.
15:27Hold on.
15:28Okay.
15:30My wife's in the shot.
15:31We're in the house.
15:32We're in the house.
15:32We're in the house.
15:34We're in the house.
15:34We're in the house.
15:34We're in the house.
15:34We're in the house.
15:44Can you tell me about that night?
15:49That evening, it was just a regular Sunday.
15:52We had some guests over.
15:53The fire alarm started to sound.
15:56John and Doreen De Nino lived in the condo on the top floor.
16:01It was near Christmas and we had our friends over.
16:05The alarm started going off.
16:08We didn't know if there was a real incident or fire going on.
16:11Within a couple of minutes,
16:12we heard what sounded like a bang.
16:15We weren't sure what it was.
16:17Because of what happened next,
16:19at the time of this interview,
16:21Doreen did not want to show her face on camera.
16:24We heard a little bang or explosion.
16:28He said, maybe something is wrong.
16:34We normally get the security letting us know what's going on.
16:38Stay in your apartment
16:40or make your way down.
16:44But nothing.
16:45And then I heard a bang at the door.
16:49And then someone was pounding on our door.
16:51My wife went to answer the door.
16:55I asked her to feel around the door frame,
16:58make sure that it wasn't hot.
17:00And it was pretty loud, the banging.
17:04I looked in the peephole,
17:06but I saw what I thought was a young boy with a hoodie on.
17:11And I thought it was maybe one of our family members.
17:15So I just opened it.
17:19As soon as I saw his face, I went, oh my God.
17:24And so she opened the door.
17:27And within a microsecond,
17:29the gunman lifted his gun out of his sleeve
17:31and shot my wife.
17:33Yeah, he raised his arm.
17:35And all I remember is just swinging my head back
17:38and falling to the ground.
17:40I just kept seeing blood everywhere.
17:44After my wife was injured,
17:47the gunman pointed the gun at me
17:49in the same fashion that he lifted the gun
17:51to shoot my wife.
17:52He did the same in my direction.
17:54There was nowhere for us to hide or refuge.
17:57And I don't know why,
17:59but it never went off.
18:01And he never fired at me.
18:03We went into fight-or-flight mode.
18:09I reacted and threw everything I could at the gunman.
18:12Crystal vases and glasses and bottles.
18:16And then he ran out?
18:17My friend, she pulled me away
18:20because I think my foot was holding the door.
18:23After our friend moved my wife out of harm's way,
18:26she actually got in between myself and the gunman
18:31and ran to the door and slammed it shut.
18:35I was fully alert.
18:37The blood was just coming out of my mouth.
18:40And I remember a tooth.
18:42And I went, oh my God, I lost a tooth.
18:45That's all I was thinking.
18:49I just kept seeing blood everywhere.
18:51And it took a while for the police to come up
18:56because they had to walk up.
18:59They had to run up on the floors.
19:02Doreen was slipping in and out of consciousness.
19:05And she needed to get to a hospital fast.
19:09So we're with the victim.
19:11She's conscious, breathing, and responsive.
19:13She's a gunshot, ruined her mouth.
19:16The bullet had gone in through my jaw
19:19and exited the back of my head.
19:22It actually hit our screen door
19:23and shattered all the glass.
19:26So it was in and out.
19:27I had one of the officers just hold me and check
19:31that I wasn't bleeding from the back.
19:34But after that, I don't remember a lot.
19:41Well, we are learning more about the victims
19:43of the mass shooting in a Vaughan condominium Sunday night.
19:47Catherine MacDonald has more on their stories.
19:49I'm still waiting to get a hold of one of the board members.
19:52Marilyn Iafredi knew Rita Camilleri
19:54and her husband Vittorio Panza.
19:56On Tuesday, Iafredi learned 57-year-old Camilleri,
19:59who was on the board of directors
20:00of the Bolaria Residences Tower 2,
20:03and 79-year-old Panza were two of the five people killed here
20:07in a shooting rampage Sunday night.
20:09God bless them.
20:10They were such advocates for this building.
20:13They were always ensuring that everything was right.
20:16Iafredi, the counsellor for the area,
20:18said Camilleri worked hard to make the condo
20:20a better place to live,
20:22as did Navid Dada,
20:23a 59-year-old real estate agent,
20:25also a member of the condo board.
20:26Russell Manik, 75,
20:28was a former member of the board.
20:29He and his 71-year-old wife,
20:31Lorraine Manik, were also killed.
20:32The Manik children told us,
20:36Mum and Dad instilled honesty, integrity,
20:40a zest for life, passion, truth, loyalty,
20:44compassion, love, warmth, strength,
20:47and respect in our family.
20:50We loved our parents then.
20:51We love our parents now.
20:53We love them eternally.
20:54To this day, Rita Camilleri's family
20:59continues to request privacy.
21:02But according to police,
21:03who spoke with them at the time,
21:05Rita was a daughter, sister,
21:08and most caring aunt.
21:11Vittorio Panza's family told us
21:13how much joy his children and grandchildren brought him
21:16and said he was loved by all.
21:19And we've learned that Navid Dada
21:21was a devoted son and brother
21:23who worked hard to stay connected
21:25to his family back in Pakistan.
21:28They were devastated that they could not get visas
21:31in time to attend his funeral.
21:33We report victims as if they're numbers.
21:36And, you know, they're not numbers.
21:39These are real human beings.
21:40These are real people who had families that loved them.
21:43We don't talk enough about the victims.
21:46And it's often the victims that are left behind
21:48and their families are left behind
21:49to pick up the pieces.
21:50Not only were they residents and my neighbours,
21:54they were my friends.
21:56John Donino is president of the condo board.
21:58Donino was at home in his penthouse apartment Sunday night
22:01and saw his 66-year-old wife get shot.
22:04One makes you want to believe
22:05or makes you think that because they were targeted
22:09that I was an intended target as well.
22:12We do have evidence that suggests
22:14that the suspect came across another resident
22:18in a hallway during his shooting spree
22:21and he told the person to keep going.
22:23So we believe, for that reason, that he was only targeting the victims
22:28who are the current board members or the past board members
22:30or their families.
22:32As an investigator, we want to kind of start now backtracking,
22:36hey, where was this suspect before he started shooting people?
22:39Police did not find any sort of manifesto during our search of his unit.
22:44There was no sort of a final letter that he left behind.
22:47So we tried to get the video from the interior and exterior of the building
22:52as soon as possible and start reviewing that video.
22:55He lived on the first floor
22:57and he's seen pacing back and forth in the lobby area.
23:02We believe he spoke to a security guard during that time
23:06between 5 and 6 o'clock
23:08and then it is not until 7.02 that we see him
23:12get on an elevator from a second floor
23:15and he got off on the 14th floor.
23:18From the 14th floor, we believe he took the stairs to the 15th floor
23:22and at 7.15 p.m., a fire alarm was pulled on the 15th floor
23:27which results in the elevators no longer working.
23:31So then we believe he took the stairs to the 16th floor.
23:36On the 16th floor, what we understand happened is
23:40he goes to one of the units where he shoots and kills two victims.
23:45From there, he moved down the hallway to another unit on the 16th floor
23:49and he shoots and kills another victim shooting through the door.
23:559-1-1, can you please fire an ambulance?
23:57Do you know what I think I was shot?
23:58Sir, I can't hear what you're saying.
24:009-2-3-5.
24:03The gentleman that was shot through the door
24:05was able to call 9-1-1 after he had been shot.
24:09I'm dying.
24:10OK, we've got help on the way, OK?
24:12We've already got the call.
24:14OK?
24:15OK?
24:17OK?
24:17Stay on the line, sir.
24:20Stay on the line.
24:22So he shot Naveed from outside the door.
24:25You can imagine somebody in offshore door, you are inside.
24:28A person who gets a bullet in the chest
24:31and that bullet, it then went up to the neck.
24:33That is the reason why he died.
24:35But you see, when he fell, he was still brave enough
24:39and he was still courageous enough
24:41and he still had that sense that he should call 9-1-1.
24:45Because this man, I'm sure his plans was to shoot many more people.
24:49More, much more than six.
24:52We reached Naveed Dada's brother in Karachi, Pakistan.
24:56He felt strongly that Canadians hear his brother's final words.
25:00This is awareness.
25:02If you want to show it or if you want to hear it,
25:04I will agree with him, yes.
25:06There's no secrecy, nothing.
25:07He saved lives of many other people.
25:11Can you talk at all?
25:15The person who shot you, are they still there?
25:18No.
25:20No?
25:20Naveed Dada, my brother, was a very lively person.
25:29We grew up together because he was the youngest.
25:31Then he went abroad for studies.
25:34After that, he wanted to go to Canada.
25:37Naveed always wanted to serve his community
25:39and help those in need.
25:41And what we learned from his family
25:43was that was one of the reasons he was on the condo board.
25:47He was a very good man.
25:48He was a very thorough gentleman,
25:50very caring, very loving.
25:51He didn't deserve this.
25:53Sir, are you there?
25:56Sir, are you okay?
26:03Anybody who called into the police to alert them,
26:05anywhere from 7.20 till the suspect was shot and killed at 7.28,
26:10definitely helped save lives.
26:12So from going back to the 16th floor,
26:14the evidence indicates that he then moved
26:17to another floor and then knocks on the door
26:20and there's an interaction where he shoots the victim.
26:23The victim thankfully survived.
26:26We believe from that floor, he moves to the 5th floor.
26:30We believe there's an interaction at the door
26:32and two people are shot inside that unit
26:34and they both die.
26:36All the victims were near the front door of their residence,
26:40shot right at the entrance of their doorway,
26:41which indicated that maybe it was a surprise to them
26:44that somebody had knocked on the door,
26:46maybe they knew the person and they opened the door
26:48and unfortunately were shot.
26:50They were executed, they were shot from close range.
26:55The evidence suggests that none of these people stood any chance.
26:58And then he ends up on the third floor
27:03where he comes across a police officer.
27:06It's hard to say what was going on in his mind,
27:07but he obviously was given a chance to surrender and he did not.
27:11There will be no criminal trial.
27:12But that does not mean that we don't owe it to the victim's family
27:16to conduct a thorough investigation
27:18to see if we can at least get a motive like
27:22or the reasons why somebody would do what Mr. Villi did here.
27:27Hi, my name is Francesco Villi.
27:30They want me dead.
27:32And this is no right.
27:34They can take my body.
27:35Tell me this.
27:36Mr. Villi says you can take his body,
27:39but never his soul and spirit.
27:48And I think what made this case
27:54especially chilling for a lot of residents
27:56is that they knew this suspected shooter.
28:00He lived among them.
28:01He had interactions with them for years.
28:04What else have we learned about Francesco Villi today?
28:08Francesco Villi, age 73, he was well known to people here.
28:12For those of us reporting on this story,
28:14with each passing hour,
28:16there were new revelations being confirmed
28:18about the man who had committed
28:20these horrible acts of violence.
28:22Today is December 13, 2022.
28:27I'm a dying man.
28:28It's shortly before 3 p.m.
28:32This is no justice.
28:33And where is justice?
28:35From Twitter to Facebook,
28:36Francesco Villi was a prolific social media poster.
28:39Why you don't fix the electrical room under this floor
28:43that it takes more than half of my unit?
28:45I don't sleep at night.
28:47Complaining about noises in the electrical room
28:49beneath his first floor condo suite.
28:51The 73-year-old Villi had been in a dispute
28:53with the condo board here for about five years.
28:57He was complaining of mold.
28:58He was complaining of air quality, the noise.
29:02And his complaints were basically
29:03that the living conditions in his unit
29:05essentially weren't livable.
29:072017, I don't know where rest and sleep is.
29:10At that time, it was a $15,000 repair
29:14to have some isolation pads put in to fix the noise.
29:17John Santoro thinks his life might have been spared
29:19because he didn't oppose Villi.
29:21I was lucky that I was trying to help him.
29:23My life has been destroyed systematically.
29:26As time went on, Villi's posts
29:28became more ominous and threatening.
29:31Very soon, all you blind people,
29:34you can stay in darkness for eternity.
29:37In November 2018, the condo corporation
29:40started court proceedings against Villi,
29:43which led to an order in 2019
29:44for him to stop harassing residents.
29:47According to court documents, in 2018,
29:50the board sought a restraining order against Villi
29:53for his, quote, allegedly threatening, abusive,
29:56intimidating, and harassing behavior.
29:59He didn't stop and was found in contempt of court
30:02and fined $30,000 in September 2021.
30:05But the harassment continued,
30:08and in a last desperate move,
30:09the board looked to have him evicted
30:11in a hearing scheduled the day
30:13after he went on his shooting rampage.
30:16He's just like, I hate them.
30:17He used to just be against everybody.
30:20Many have stories of Villi making racial slurs
30:22and making them feel uncomfortable.
30:24I got scared of him.
30:26So whenever I saw him, I would evade.
30:28The Manik family told us that in 2022,
30:33the harassment had gotten so bad
30:34that their parents no longer used the stairwells,
30:37and their mother avoided being
30:39in the underground parkade alone.
30:41So all these complaints were brought forward
30:44to the condo,
30:45and police had been called
30:46for some of these disputes in the past.
30:49The police reports we have on file
30:52are from 2018 to 2022.
30:54One of them was unrelated.
30:57It was just a traffic infraction,
30:59but the other six were from Mr. Villi
31:00or they were from somebody from the condo board.
31:03Although there were no calls
31:05in that final month leading up to the killings,
31:08York Regional Police was aware of the situation.
31:12So when police are called to any sort of dispute
31:15or almost any call,
31:17it is normal for the police
31:18to conduct a firearms check
31:20to see if the person involved
31:23is a licensed firearm holder.
31:25I can tell you that police were aware
31:28that Mr. Villi owned firearms
31:30when we responded
31:32to any of these dispute calls.
31:35The weapon that was used in this crime
31:38was a Beretta handgun.
31:39He got his firearms license in 1998,
31:43and in 2019,
31:45he purchased this handgun
31:47that was used in this shooting.
31:48So the gun that he used
31:50was legally owned by Mr. Villi.
31:53During the execution of our search warrant
31:55in his unit,
31:56we also learned that he had a safe,
31:59and in that safe,
32:00we found four long guns
32:02that he legally owned as well.
32:05Getting a permit
32:06is designed to be difficult.
32:07Criminal record checks
32:08and references are required.
32:10But when the Canadian Coalition
32:11for Firearms Rights
32:12asked the government
32:13how many of those references
32:14were checked in 2020,
32:16the government said just 10% were.
32:17And when someone renews
32:19their license after five years,
32:20there's no requirement
32:22to provide references,
32:23the government said.
32:24As a legal gun owner
32:25for well over 20 years,
32:26I've never had my references called.
32:28I've been a reference
32:29on many applications.
32:31I've never been called.
32:32So the police does have authority
32:35under the Section 117
32:37of the Criminal Code
32:38to seize firearms
32:39and to ask for a firearms hearing in court
32:42to say that,
32:43hey, this person should no longer own a firearm.
32:45But the police have to have the grounds
32:48to say,
32:49hey, not only is this person
32:51a harm to themselves
32:52or a harm to others,
32:54but we had no reports
32:56where he threatened anybody with a firearm
32:58or threatened to use a firearm.
33:00And I can tell you
33:01that during all these incidents
33:02when the police were called,
33:04Mr. Vili was never apprehended
33:06under the Mental Health Act,
33:07nor was he ever charged
33:09under the Criminal Code
33:10for any criminal offense.
33:13Usually active shooters are cowards.
33:15They either kill themselves
33:17or get into a confrontation
33:19with the police
33:20to have the police kill them.
33:21What's referred to
33:22as a suicide by a cop,
33:24sometime during his crime spree,
33:25he made up his mind
33:26that he was not going to go out live.
33:28And that, of course,
33:29triggered the SIU's jurisdiction.
33:33And once we had an officer
33:35who had caused the death,
33:36there's now a statutory obligation
33:38on this office
33:38to conduct a criminal investigation.
33:41The complainant was attempting
33:43to gain access to a unit
33:44when he was alerted
33:45to the subject official's presence
33:46behind him,
33:47the officer having called out,
33:48hey.
33:49The officer called out
33:50to the individual.
33:51The individual eventually turned
33:53to face the officer
33:54and was at that point
33:55that the officer saw a firearm
33:57in the individual's right hand.
34:01At the sight of the gun,
34:03the officer leveled his firearm
34:04at the complainant,
34:06ordering him to drop the weapon
34:07and remain still.
34:08The complainant made it clear
34:10he was not going to do that,
34:11telling the officer to shoot him.
34:14There was that exchange,
34:15that verbal exchange,
34:16put the gun down,
34:17put the gun down.
34:18The individual responded,
34:20shoot me, shoot me.
34:22Who knows what was going on
34:23in his mind at that point in time.
34:25What really matters
34:26is the conduct.
34:28The officer had every reason
34:29to believe that his life
34:30was in danger at that moment.
34:32We considered potential resort
34:35to some other weapon,
34:36for example, a taser,
34:38in those circumstances,
34:39but really it was only
34:40a firearm response
34:41that was reasonable
34:42in the circumstances.
34:43So the training is
34:45to eliminate that threat.
34:47And the best way to do that
34:48is to make sure
34:50you hit your target.
34:51Aiming at a limb
34:51is not something
34:53that officers are trained to do
34:54because when you fire your weapon,
34:57you're only allowed to do so
34:58when you believe you're faced
35:00with a lethal threat.
35:01You believe he was going to kill you?
35:03Oh yeah.
35:04Yeah.
35:04He didn't care.
35:06He was ready to shoot.
35:07Would have been great
35:08if I could drop the gun
35:09and I could arrest him
35:10and place me in handcuffs.
35:12It would have been awesome.
35:12It didn't happen.
35:15You always try to make sense of it
35:17when you kill somebody.
35:18It's hard to do.
35:19It's not normal to kill somebody.
35:22You're not trained to kill somebody.
35:23You're trained to protect people.
35:26And in the instance I was in,
35:28I had to protect people
35:29by killing somebody.
35:29Welcome back to Crime Beats.
35:43Five people are dead,
35:44another in hospital
35:45after a condo resident
35:47went door to door
35:48killing his neighbours
35:49in cold blood.
35:51Just a month earlier,
35:52the shooter,
35:53Francesco Ville,
35:54had demanded a meeting
35:55with his city councillor
35:56over ongoing complaints
35:58about his unit.
36:01Here now is Catherine MacDonald
36:03with the conclusion
36:05of a knock at the door.
36:10This is the dedication
36:12from Vaughan Council,
36:13this memorial space
36:15in loving memory
36:16of the five innocent residents
36:18who lost their lives
36:19during the December 18, 2022 shooting.
36:22Around here,
36:23you can see that we got five benches,
36:25and each of them
36:26is dedicated to the five people
36:28that were killed.
36:30The memorial was dedicated
36:31in early July,
36:33less than seven months
36:34after the tragedy took place.
36:37If you look east of here,
36:40what you see
36:41is the actual building
36:42where all this took place.
36:44But when the councillor
36:45heard about the shooting,
36:47it was not the first time
36:49he had heard of the shooter.
36:50A month before the shooting,
36:52he had just won the election
36:54when his office
36:55was contacted
36:56by a man
36:57introducing himself
36:58as Francesco Vili.
37:00I remember telling him,
37:01I'm happy to talk to you
37:02on the telephone,
37:03you know,
37:03letting me know
37:04what your issues are.
37:05And he said,
37:06no, no,
37:06you've got to come
37:07to my condo
37:07because I've got to show you
37:09something in my condo.
37:11He won't take enough
37:12of an answer.
37:12I told him,
37:14okay, I'm coming.
37:16And so I arrived there,
37:17we shook hands,
37:18we talked,
37:19and I said,
37:20okay,
37:20he said,
37:20you know,
37:21what is the issue?
37:22Show me.
37:22So he came inside.
37:24He was aggressive,
37:25he was loud.
37:26And so at a certain point,
37:27I raised my voice
37:28and I said,
37:29you better,
37:30otherwise I'm leaving.
37:31He felt that his unit
37:34was not built properly,
37:37that mistakes were made.
37:38I did go to his bed
37:40and I did look under the bed
37:43and on the side
37:45and I didn't see any lighting,
37:47any,
37:47I didn't hear any noise,
37:49whatsoever.
37:50He was complaining
37:50about management.
37:51He was complaining
37:52about his lawyer.
37:53I mean,
37:53everybody seemed in his mind
37:56to have done something
37:57terrible to him.
37:59He just was a very sad person,
38:04a person who felt
38:05that nobody cared,
38:06a person who felt
38:07that nobody was listening to him.
38:10The family members
38:11of the gunmen
38:12responsible for the province's
38:13deadliest mass shooting
38:14in modern history
38:15now speaking out
38:16about their estranged father,
38:18writing in a statement
38:19that he was controlling
38:20and had a history
38:22of domestic abuse
38:23that left the rest
38:24of the family suffering.
38:25They say he behaved aggressively
38:27and possessed
38:28a Jekyll and Hyde
38:29type personality.
38:30We believe mental health
38:32did play a factor
38:33in this incident,
38:35but at the same time,
38:36what I can tell you,
38:37during the past interactions
38:39that the police had,
38:40he was never apprehended
38:42by the police.
38:43He just didn't raise it
38:44to that level
38:45that the officer had grounds
38:46to apprehend him
38:47and perhaps take him
38:48to a hospital
38:50for assessment.
38:51And I know
38:52in one of the interactions
38:53from our mental health
38:54support team
38:55that the York Regional Police
38:55has, they did offer him
38:57mental health support resources.
39:00The hope that we are discussing
39:01is to try to find
39:03the solutions,
39:04the ways to eliminate
39:06that possibility happening.
39:07Again, don't wait
39:09until something happens
39:10in your neighborhood.
39:11Do it today.
39:11Do it yesterday,
39:12not tomorrow.
39:14The councillor introduced
39:15two resolutions,
39:17proposing better protections
39:19for condo dwellers
39:20across the country
39:21and to increase funding
39:23for mental health services
39:25and victim services
39:27in York Region.
39:28What we didn't realize
39:29is the overall impact
39:31on the entire condo building
39:35or the entire community in Vaughan.
39:37So since then,
39:39what we have implemented
39:40with the Region of York
39:42is a program called
39:43Traumatic Incident Response Teams
39:45because as we learned
39:46as this investigation went on
39:48is we may feel
39:49that the only people impacted
39:51are those direct family members,
39:53of course they are,
39:54but also that person
39:55who lives on a different floor
39:57but walks by that yellow tape.
40:00For the sergeant
40:01who shot and killed the suspect,
40:04those actions
40:04still weigh heavily on him.
40:07When you're training,
40:08it's fine.
40:08It's fun.
40:09It's exciting, you know,
40:10but when you have to shoot somebody
40:12to kill them,
40:13it's not the same at all.
40:15The sergeant also had to wait
40:17for the SIU
40:18to release its findings.
40:19It was a few days
40:20before my birthday.
40:21I got the news
40:22that the SIU had cleared me.
40:23I was very ecstatic,
40:24happy, relieved.
40:26This was the largest
40:27mass casualty event
40:28we had had in the history
40:30of York Region.
40:30In this case,
40:31the heroic actions
40:33of our officers
40:33saved further lives.
40:35There's no doubt in my mind.
40:36You know,
40:36we're asking them
40:37to do some of the most
40:40difficult work
40:40that many people
40:41would never want
40:42to put themselves
40:42in the way of.
40:44I have my therapist.
40:45My wife has been amazing.
40:47My family has been
40:47very supportive.
40:48People need to deal
40:50with stuff as it happens.
40:52I had 25 years
40:52of death and destruction
40:55in my career.
40:57The sergeant
40:58will never be able
40:59to return to policing.
41:01I have Parkinson's,
41:03PTSD.
41:04I'm dealing with that
41:05right now
41:05as a result
41:06of the incident,
41:08the PTSD.
41:09Parkinson's,
41:10I was diagnosed
41:10back in November 2023
41:12after the incident occurred.
41:13I just wanted people
41:14to know that I'm okay,
41:15I'll be okay
41:16and all other people
41:17will be okay
41:17but we will live
41:19with it forever.
41:20I felt for him
41:20being off work
41:22for so long
41:23not knowing
41:24what was going to happen
41:25with his future.
41:26I'm sure you felt
41:27that man was heroic.
41:28Oh, I did.
41:29I did.
41:30And so I did feel for him
41:32and I'm so glad
41:33when they did finally
41:34announce that he was cleared.
41:36I was happy for him.
41:37To look at you,
41:39I wouldn't have even known
41:40that you had been shot
41:42in the face
41:43right here
41:43around your mouth, right?
41:44Right, right.
41:46It's a little crooked.
41:48It's numb.
41:49They had to reconstruct
41:50my whole jaw
41:51because I lost
41:52all my nerves,
41:55the nerves
41:56and bone
41:58and three teeth.
42:00So the whole bottom
42:02is gone.
42:03When John and Doreen
42:04first sat down
42:05with me
42:05to tell their story,
42:07it was just a few months
42:08after the shooting.
42:10Doreen was still
42:11too self-conscious
42:12to show her face.
42:14That's the physical.
42:15What about the emotional?
42:17The emotional is,
42:20to me, I'm okay.
42:23I don't mind
42:23talking about it.
42:24I do feel better
42:25when I do talk about it.
42:26But I want
42:28to forget about it.
42:31Doreen De Nino
42:31spent six weeks
42:33in hospital,
42:34recovering from
42:34the gunshot wound
42:35to her face.
42:36Her husband, John,
42:38by her bedside
42:39throughout.
42:41The relationship,
42:42the love for my wife
42:43has always been
42:46over the top.
42:48But this is something
42:49that is
42:50something unimaginable.
42:55Her resilience,
42:56her strength.
42:58And I think
42:58that's what gives me
42:58the strength.
43:00I think that's what
43:01gives our family
43:02the strength.
43:03Has it changed
43:04your sense of security?
43:05A little.
43:07A little.
43:07But I was determined
43:08to come home.
43:09So I'd like to stay.
43:11But staying
43:12has not been so easy.
43:14And they've asked
43:15that we not reveal
43:16anything about their
43:17current living arrangements
43:18or location.
43:20I don't cry for myself.
43:23I cry for the other ones
43:25that are gone.
43:25But I'm just happy
43:28to be here
43:29with my husband,
43:30my children,
43:31my grandkids.
43:33That's my happiness.
43:35Are you okay?
43:35How are you feeling today?
43:37I'm alright.
43:38I think I'm doing okay.
43:39You know how this is, right?
43:41It's a roller coaster.
43:41You know,
43:43a little bit of swelling,
43:44but I feel good.
43:46A few years
43:46have now passed.
43:48And we met
43:48back up at the condo.
43:50Does it feel
43:51like it's been that long?
43:52Or does it feel
43:53like just yesterday?
43:54It feels like
43:55it's yesterday every day.
43:56No.
43:57Yeah, why does it
43:58feel different for you?
43:59It's been a long time.
44:01I feel like, you know,
44:02I've come a long way,
44:03you know,
44:03slowly but surely.
44:05But this is not
44:06who she was.
44:07She's not 100%
44:08of who Doreen was.
44:10I'm not 100%
44:11of who John was.
44:13My emotions go
44:14when I think
44:15of the five people.
44:17That's where, you know,
44:18it really, really hurts.
44:20Focus on the positive.
44:21I'm here.
44:22You know,
44:22I have a second
44:24chance in life
44:24in my eyes.
44:25Some of the other
44:26people didn't get
44:27that chance, right?
44:27No, absolutely not.
44:32A coroner's inquest
44:34is expected
44:34in the coming years.
44:36In the meantime,
44:37the families
44:38of all five victims
44:39continue to grieve
44:41and wait for answers.
44:43The children
44:43of Lorraine
44:44and Russell Mannock
44:45told us,
44:46it is sickening
44:47that our judicial system
44:49couldn't recognize
44:50after years
44:51of court cases
44:52and police visits
44:53that the killer
44:54was menacing,
44:56hazardous,
44:57unpredictable,
44:58and a threat
44:58to society.
45:01Thank you for joining us
45:02tonight on Crime Beat.
45:04I'm Anthony Robart.
45:06Want more episodes
45:08of Crime Beat?
45:09Listen to the
45:10Crime Beat podcast
45:10now for free
45:12on Apple Podcasts,
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45:14or wherever you find
45:15your favorite podcast.
45:17And for past episodes
45:18of Crime Beat,
45:19go to the Global TV app,
45:21visit GlobalTV.com,
45:23or check out
45:24our Crime Beat
45:25YouTube page.
45:26obyl TV Store.
45:29Bye here.
45:30Help me
45:31Take care
45:31for bless you.
45:32Help me
45:33to my
45:34algun
45:38of
45:39abuse
45:40to
45:42help me
45:43warn you
45:43or
45:44ør it
45:45and
45:46go there.
45:49�도
45:50or
45:51You
45:51mor
45:52you
45:53что
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