John Ignagni, 33, Toronto murder victim, was gunned down in the parking garage of his King West Village apartment building Sunday afternoon

While John Ignagni was “a nice guy,” but his murder came as no surprise to a man familiar with the shooting victim.

Ignagni, 33, was gunned down Sunday at his King West Village apartment building.

The man, who spoke with the victim dozens of times at 954 King St. W., said Tuesday that Ignagni appeared to be involved in a lifestyle that might put him in harm’s way.

“I was shocked when I heard there had been a shooting,” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But I thought right away that it must be him.”

Toronto Police responded around 12:30 p.m. Sunday to what was initially thought to be a motorcycle collision in the building’s underground parking garage.

But officers found the lifeless body of Ignagni — the city’s 44th murder victim of the year. Detectives have said they believe Ignagni was the intended target.

Court records show he was among four people arrested in connection with a kidnapping in Flemingdon Park seven years ago.

A smoke-filled hallway prompted emergency crews to respond to an apartment complex on St. Dennis Dr., near Eglinton Ave. E. and Don Mills Rd., on Jan. 17, 2009.

Police encountered three men who were pleading for help and claiming they had been abducted a day earlier and held at gunpoint over drug debts.

Ignagni initially faced a slew of charges but he ultimately pleaded guilty to a single count of threatening death.

“Any time I talked to him, he was always polite,” recalled the man. “He was a nice guy.”

He said the victim lived alone in the building for at least a couple of years.

Other residents often complained about noise coming from Ignagni’s apartment, the man said, adding most recently the victim was heard yelling in his unit on Friday night.

“I’m not sure if there was someone in his apartment or if he was on the phone,” said the man, who wonders now if that incident may be tied to his killing just over 36 hours later.

Police towed a BMW motorcycle and a Porsche sedan from the underground in the wake of the killing.

The man confirmed the two luxury vehicles were owned by Ignagni.

“He also had a Ducati for a while,” the man said, explaining the high-end motorcycle sat parked in the garage so long that its tires went flat.

“He told me that he sold the Ducati to a friend,” he added.

No arrests have been made.
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