Vaughan marks one year since condo mass shooting that left five dead

The City of Vaughan is marking one year since a gunman opened fire at a condominium building in Maple, killing five people and seriously injuring one other.

Shots rang out at Bellaria Condominiums at 9235 Jane Street, north of Rutherford Road, on the evening of Dec. 18, 2022. Police responded and fatally shot a 73-year-old gunman, a man who lived in the building and had a long-running dispute with the condo board over complaints about vibrations coming from the electrical room under his unit.

Those killed in the shooting include Rita Camilleri, Vittorio Panza, Naveed Dada, Helen “Lorraine” Manock and Russell Manock. Doreen Di Nino was injured, but survived.

Three of the victims were on the condo board and police said they believed the shooter targeted them because of the dispute.

“It was a horrific day from which we will never fully heal,” Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca said in a statement Monday. “Despite the pain of this heinous action, our city came together in support of the victims’ families and each other.”

Del Duca said that in the wake of the mass shooting, York Region has allocated further funding to victim services, and that the city continues to work with police and others to ensure that the community is safe.

A memorial was unveiled at Julliard Park, across the street from the condo building, this past summer to remember the victims.

“We imagined an installation that would allow the memories of the victims to live on, not just in our hearts, but surrounded by a beautiful landscape within sight of the home they loved. The City has arranged for the site to be lit year-round as a tribute that will never dim, just as our memories of them will not fade,” Del Duca said.

He added that “it feels like yesterday” and that  “there are simply no words that can adequately convey how heartbroken we remain.”

Flags have been lowered to half-mast at City of Vaughan facilities today to remember the victims.