Maria Voci and Christopher de Simone dead in Vaughan caf shooting - Action News
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Toronto

Maria Voci and Christopher de Simone dead in Vaughan caf shooting

Police hope surveillance video will help them identify the gunman who opened fire in a Vaughan, Ont., caf early Wednesday morning, killing two people and wounding two others.

2 others sent to hospital after Moka espresso bar shooting

Brazen shooting leaves 2 dead

9 years ago
Duration 3:15
A man and woman were killed at Vaughan, Ont. cafe when gunman opened fire.

Police hope surveillance video will help them identifythe gunman who opened fire in a Vaughan, Ont.,caf early Wednesdaymorning, killing two people and wounding two others.

York Regional Police have little to go on, other than a description of a dark-skinned man who fled the scene in a dark-coloured compact car.

Butinvestigators are hoping video footage captured nearthe Mokaespresso bar,where the gunfire broke out around 8:15 a.m., will provide some clues.

Christopher de Simone, 24, was one of two people slain at the Moka espresso bar on Wednesday morning.
Maria Voci, 47, and Christopher de Simone, 24, both of Vaughan, were identified as the two people killed in the attack. Bothwere pronounced dead atthe scene, York Regional PoliceConst. Andy Pattenden said.

The two others were taken to hospital. Pattenden said at 1 p.m. ET that one person is in stable condition and the other is in life-threatening condition.

"The information that we have is that a man arrived here andbegan shooting,"Pattendensaid.

Voci worked at caf

Friends of Voci said she worked at the caf where she was killed and loved her work, treating the coffee spot like it was her own place.

Maria Voci is survived by three sons, according to a friend and neighbour. (Facebook)
"She was absolutely beautiful, gorgeous inside and out," said Sonya Soparker, a friend and former neighbour who knew Voci for around 20 years.

Soparker said Voci has three sons.

Vlada Khovaylo, a neighbour of Voci's, said she still can't believe the news.

"I hope it's a mistake," she said.

Former colleagues of de Simone, who used to work at the Da Vinci Banquet Hall in Woodbridge,shared images of the young, smiling man late Wednesday. The colleagues say de Simonemet his wife at the hall.

Earlier, a CBC News camera wasrolling when de Simone'sdistraught wife arrived outside the caf frantically trying to reach him.

Area hit by violence before

Several people, who declined to give their names, called the shooting sad, but said violence has struckthe area before.

This is the fourth shooting in this area in just over a year, andthere wasanother shooting on Wednesday morning in theIslingtonandSteelesarea. Police said the second shooting was unrelated to the first.

Last April, 56-year-old Carmine Verduci, who had alleged Mafia links, was gunned down outside the Regina Sports Caf, which is less than three kilometres from today's crime scene.

So far, police say there's nothing to link the Moka cafshooting to organized crime.

"It's way too early in the investigation to be tying anything to that," saidPattenden.

CBC's Linda Ward reported from the scene that distraught people arrivedin the morningand werelooking for loved ones.

Pattenden said the homicide unit is canvassing the area for video surveillance.Police are appealing for anyone who saw anything to come forward, and for people with dashcams who drove through the area to review their footage.

On Wednesday afternoon, police confirmed that there had been another shooting about two kilometres south of the Mokacaf, but Pattenden said he has no indication the two incidents are related.

With files from The Canadian Press