By Vaughn Resident Tracey Kent
Vaughan shooter allegedly killed condo board members over ignored complaints.
They’re not mentioning that this fellow believed he was being intentionally poisoned, was a Trump QAnon follower, & all the stuff on 5G electrical lines etc. https://t.co/TZpbxXBWA8— Tracey Kent (@TraceyKent) December 19, 2022
I deleted the RT of the shooter in Vaughan. A very mentally unstable man. This pandemic had only added to it all, as he was obsessed with air quality & sickness.
He threatened a lot of people, a few I know.
— Tracey Kent (@TraceyKent) December 19, 2022
At 7:20 pm on a quiet Sunday, a week before Christmas, a 73-year-old man took a gun and killed five people in his condominium building in Vaughan, Ontario. The building at the intersection of Jane and Rutherford is known among residents as one of the first upscale condos to be built in the area. Many retirees, former politicians, and business leaders live there. Even though the building has perimeter security barriers and security guards, it didn’t stop the massacre that occurred that Sunday night.
The 73-year-old condo owner, Francesco Villi, had an active social media footprint that seemed to have grown throughout the last few years during the pandemic. He had believed that his declining health was due to the building’s ventilation system and was being kept awake by ‘noises’ from the electrical boxes in the building. A quick look at his posts shows an older man who seemed to fall prey to conspiracy theories and an inability to grasp his growing paranoia.
This story has so many issues. The mental health struggles of those having gone through a pandemic. The access to weapons. Social media conspiracy theories & misinformation The lack of Landlord/Tenant mediation. And finally, how society handles the elderly and those with apparent mental health decline.
What led Villi to take a weapon and seek out vengeance is an escalating story years in the making. His posts name those he felt betrayed him. Many of those he targeted are well-known members of the Vaughan community. Somehow these threats remained on his open social media, unreported. Villi never mentions a weapon in his posts, but his growing anger, frustration, and desperation surely warranted a police visit or a mental health assessment. It’s unknown if the police had been involved previously. Not many of us would see a 73 yr old older man as a violent threat and take his rants as harmless venting.
Francesco Villi posted this alarming video to his Facebook page before killing 4 people at a condo in #Vaughan, Ontario #toronto pic.twitter.com/eNSupwWY4D
— Richard B. Long (@intell911) December 19, 2022
In Vaughan this morning, residents are texting each other, checking up on those who have friends and relatives in that building. There’s general shock. The names of the victims have not been released. But many here already know the names, and the anger and mourning will be city wide. Vaughan may be a growing sprawl north of Toronto, but in many ways it’s still a small town. You can bump into someone who knows your cousin, went to school with your friend, or your parents are from the same town in Italy. At this time of year, the bakeries in the area are full of people ordering desserts and food trays for family events for Christmas weekend. The hugging, greeting in crowded grocery stores and cafes, the festive drop-ins to neighbours bringing wine bottles as gifts. Everyone knows everyone. It’s a lovely wonderful blessing this time of year, a community.
With what happened last night? This community is realizing the shock of this horrible act. Many of us will know someone who was a victim, or their family, or their friends.
Living in a small world, a small community should be a blessing. When it goes wrong as horribly as this, it can and will hurt much deeper.
TK
