Wife of transit union chief John Di Nino survives Vaughan massacre
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There was one survivor after Sunday night’s shooting spree in Vaughan that left five victims and the shooter dead.
Doreen Di Nino, 66, was identified Monday by her husband’s office as the person taken to hospital after police and paramedics arrived at the scene of carnage on Jane St.
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She is the wife of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Canada’s president, John Di Nino.
In a statement from ATU it was confirmed that Doreen DiNino was one of the victims of the mass shooting.
“We are grateful to learn that she has survived this horrific incident and is undergoing emergency surgery today,” the statement read in part.
Later on Monday, John Di Nino issued a separate statement under the heading, “Mass Shooting at Condo Building in Vaughan, Ontario.”
He said, “I have been asked to provide comments after the terrible events yesterday in Vaughan. This is obviously a very difficult time for my family, and I would ask that our privacy be respected.
“I intend to make no further comment at this time.”
Investigators say gunman Francesco Villi, 73, shot dead by police Sunday night, used a semi-automatic handgun to kill his neighbours as he went through the condo building where he and the victims all lived.
Villi and the condo board of the building had been embroiled in a lawsuit for some time involving his claims that an electrical room under his condo unit was ruining his health through electro-magnetic emissions.
Villi put up many posts on Facebook and Twitter, vilifying those he felt were responsible for his illness — among them the builders of the condo development, various lawyers and members of the judicial system, and people on the condo board.
In his lawsuit, he named the following: Rita Camilleri, Dino Colalillo, Naveed Dada, Russell Manock, John Di Nino, and Patricia De Sario.
It seems likely that any bullets that struck Doreen Di Nino were meant for her husband.
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Police have not released victim names yet, but said Monday that three men and two women died in the shooting.
Three of the dead were indeed members of the condo board.
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