Shots fired as gunman storms Toronto billionaire’s Rosedale home

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Early Monday morning, a gunman fired several shots at the Toronto home of Canadian businessman Patrick Dovigi in what the garbage magnate said was a botched robbery.

The billionaire, who currently heads the Canadian environmental services company Green For Life Environmental Inc., is reported to have died. (GFL), said Monday night that he was not the target of the shooting at his Rosedale home and that he was out of town when the shooting occurred around 1 a.m.

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“A guy ran up to our house and tried to break into it,” Dovigi said in a telephone interview from New York.

Dovigi’s security guard, who was walking around the house, shouted at the intruder.

“He said, ‘What are you doing?’ and the guy turned around and then fired a shot at the security guard, and then as he was running away, he fired four shots at the door.”

Dovigi said the first shot appeared to be aimed toward the ground.

“We have the footage,” he said.

“When he ran away, the security guard seemed to run after him. Like he turned around and shot four times at the front door.

Dovigi wondered if the intruder was simply trying to scare the security guard into getting into the car they were fleeing to. “There was a car in the street with another man in it.”

We are Canadians because it is supposed to be safe. But I don’t know

As Dovigi added, nothing happened to the security guard. “He’s clearly a little shaken up,” he said.

“Luckily this guy was there. If they got into the house, who knows what they would take.

The house has 24-hour security working in shifts around the clock due to the recent number of burglaries in the area, he added.

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Dovigi said he didn’t think the armed intruder knew it was his home.

Dovigi wondered if the killer was chasing two Range Rovers parked in his Toronto basement.

“This has been an ongoing topic in Toronto for some time,” he said.

“It’s quite scary that this is happening… We are Canadians because it should be safe. But I don’t know, between all the car thefts and burglaries on our street, it’s really crazy.”

Dovigi emailed his neighbors about the shooting, seeking images of the ongoing crime from their surveillance cameras.

“I told them exactly what happened and said it would be very helpful if you cooperated with the police to get the photos,” he said.

“They haven’t made any arrests, but they are collecting footage from the street.”

A famous athlete lives down the street, Dovigi said, noting that the getaway car may have been parked next to the house.

“So maybe we have something from before he showed up on the street,” he said. “They have videos of what appears to be the same car. But police said the problem with these guys is that they probably stole a car to come here, or they’re driving a car with stolen license plates.

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Dovigi said area residents are trying to remain vigilant.

“There have been three or four burglaries in the last two months,” he said.

The prominent former business executive lives on the same street as Dovigi.

“It was broken into just down the street,” Dovigi said. “Something has gone wrong in Toronto with all the kidnappings, thefts and car break-ins. The case has been widely publicized, but clearly something needs to be done about it.”

Dovigi founded the waste management company in 2007 after a short-lived hockey career when he was drafted to the Edmonton Oilers in 1997.

GFL expanded rapidly after a series of acquisitions and completed an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in March 2020, leaving it with a market value of $6.1 billion.

Canadian Business magazine put Doviga’s net worth at $1.1 billion.

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