Ford applauds Vaughan homeowner for shooting invader, says he should’ve shot him ‘a couple more times’

Ontario Premier Doug Ford congratulated a Vaughan homeowner who shot an intruder with a legally owned gun early Tuesday morning, saying he should have shot him a “couple of more times.”

York Regional Police (YRP) said the homeowner isn’t facing charges and confirm he used a legally-owned and properly stored firearm to fend off the sudden intrusion, which was caught on security video.

“As for the person that was defending his family, he was a legal gun owner, it was stored properly — congratulations,” Ford said during an unrelated infrastructure announcement in Wellington North Township.

“I’m glad you shot the guy,” he continued. “It teaches the rest of these robbers, and I encourage everyone out there that’s a legal gun owner — someone’s gonna come in and try to kill you and kill your family … these guys, they need to be shot as far as I’m concerned.”

Ford cited the sad case of Abdul Aleem Farooqi, the 46-year-old who was shot to death in front of his children last November in Vaughan, for his ‘shoot first ask questions later’ stance.

“I’ll never forget the one family that the man was protecting his four-year-old kid … and there was three other children there and his wife, and they assassinated him right in front of his kids,” Ford recalled.

“They need to rot in jail for the rest of their lives. Congratulations for shooting this guy,” he reiterated. “Should’ve shot him a couple more times as far as I’m concerned.”

On Tuesday, York Regional Police released video showing several suspects, at least one armed with a gun, storm into the Vaughan.

It happened at around 12:50 a.m. at a residence near Carrville Woods Circle and Crimson Forest Drive near Rutherford Road.

The suspects later fled in a black pickup truck before police arrived.

The homeowner, a middle-aged man, was in the house with an elderly woman at the time. They weren’t injured.

The injured suspect, however, was dropped off at a Toronto‑area hospital a few hours later. Investigators said they quickly determined his injury occurred during the home invasion, and he was placed in police custody, where he remains in stable condition at hospital.

On Wednesday, he was identified by police as Trestin Cassanova-Alman, 24, of no fixed address.

He’s been charged with robbery with a firearm and disguise with intent.

“He is also charged with breach of probation order, as he was on an outstanding probation order for unrelated offences at the time of the home invasion,” a YRP release reveals.

Three other suspects remain at large.

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca said he was pleased that the homeowner didn’t end up facing charges.

“No one should be put in that position, and I am thankful that the homeowner has not been charged, as this was an act of self-defence.”

He also touched on the fact that the suspect in police custody at hospital was on an outstanding probation order for unrelated offences.

“We have seen far too many of these incidents involving individuals who were already known to police and out on release orders, highlighting a deeply broken bail system that is failing our communities.”

“We cannot accept this as the new normal,” he said while calling for bail reform.

Ford also touched on the issue, saying “we have some great judges but we have some really weak-kneed judges letting these criminals out on bail, not once or twice, four or five times … they are violent criminals and we are going to hold them to account.”

Once again, our community has been shaken by a violent home invasion—one that forced a homeowner to defend their family inside their own home. I want to thank @YRP for their swift response. No one should ever be put in that position, and I am thankful that the homeowner has not… https://t.co/aMwUVNNlrr pic.twitter.com/gGHpVlYHtz

— Steven Del Duca (@StevenDelDuca) March 18, 2026

Ford also took aim at what he called the federal government’s misdirected investment in gun bans.

Federal officials have said that almost $250 million has been earmarked to compensate people who participate in their gun buyback program.

“The feds are spending so much time to go after legal, law-abiding gun owners that safely store their guns and safely store their ammunition, they are hunters and sport shooters,” Ford said.

“I have an idea, rather than wasting hundreds of millions of dollars going after legal gun owners, why don’t you spend (that money) going after the bad guys?”

“I’m sick and tired of it.”

With files from Lucas Casaletto and The Canadian Press