Prominent realtor shot dead in Toronto restaurant

TORONTO — A man wearing a hoodie pulled tightly around his face walked into a high-end downtown restaurant Saturday night, pulled out a handgun, and shot dead one of the city’s best-known real estate brokers.

Det. Shannon Dawson said the gunman shot Simon Giannini, 54, multiple times. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

Dawson said the killing appears to have been “targeted,” but she admitted it’s not yet known why someone would want Giannini dead. “I’m sure it was very frightening for the customers who were at the restaurant,” Dawson said.

“And that’s why we think many of them may have fled very quickly.”

Giannini was known for his book, Everything You Wanted To Know About Real Estate But Were Afraid To Ask, and a weekly Toronto radio show offering real estate advice.

He was one of the city’s top real estate salesmen, working for Royal LePage Select.

He had also recently co-authored The Real Estate Retirement Plan.

It’s not the first time blood has been spilled inside Michael’s.

On Sept. 20, 2015, two gunmen opened fire on a couple sitting at a table enjoying their dinner.

The man was shot in his neck, and the woman was hit in her hip, but both survived.

Restaurant owner Michael Dabic told CP24 News that he was shocked that another shooting occurred inside his restaurant, on Simcoe Street in the city’s financial district.