Six dead as gun-toting Santa opens fire, kills self
 

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ? At least six people were killed after a man dressed as Santa Claus burst into a Christmas Eve party and opened fire before later killing himself, police said Thursday.

The body of Bruce Pardo, 45, was found with self-inflicted gunshot wounds early Thursday, hours after he had launched an assault on a party hosted by the parents of his ex-wife in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina, police said.

Local media reported that Pardo's former spouse was among three people who remained missing Thursday as the number of dead rose to six after three more bodies were pulled from the charred wreckage of the crime scene.

Pardo had knocked on the door of the home in a quiet residential neighborhood in Covina, 23 miles (37 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, just before midnight on Christmas Eve, police lieutenant Pat Buchanan said.

Local media reports said Pardo was let into the house by revelers who thought he had been hired as entertainment for children at the party.

But once inside, he produced a handgun from beneath his costume and opened fire, spraying party-goers with bullets.

After terrified revelers fled the scene, Pardo then reportedly torched the house with a homemade incendiary device before making his getaway.

He was found dead from a single gunshot to the head at his home in Sylmar, approximately 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, a few hours later, police said.

Police had received a series of emergency calls alerting them to the initial incident, and when they arrived, the house was engulfed in flames and guests were running out, Buchanan said.

Neighbors reported hearing a loud explosion before the blaze erupted.

Two girls, age 16 and eight, were hospitalized with gunshot wounds and a 13-year-old girl was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Around 80 firefighters were deployed to tackle the fire that destroyed the house. Popping sounds -- possibly ammunition rounds exploding -- were heard throughout the blaze.

After the fire was extinguished, rescuers found three bodies in the basement, Buchanan said.

Buchanan told CBS2 television the shooting was "extremely unusual and very shocking." "It's just not something we see here at any time of the year -- especially during Christmas," he said.

Police were searching Pardo's home Thursday for clues to his bloody rampage.

"Maybe there's some (sign of) planning, maybe letters or anything that will give us more clues about the state of his mind," Detective Antonio Zavala was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...Wcb1AtU49XFLsg

black, white, or other?

Pardo + Covina . . . guessing Mexican.

sad shit. Twisted fucking people. Guy couldnt just off himself he had to ruin everyones life.

that's so fucked up. even if he hated the ex-wife why the hell shoot young kids in xmas day

:2 cents:

nah... he's white and a big guy at like 6' and 250lbs. pretty sick

white guy

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...=moreheadlines

damn that sucks.

That is fucked up :(

Merrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Christmas!

He shot a couple of little girls? That's only what they mentioned in the report, they said nothingabout who died even. Who knows. The story was a little vague on that sortof detail, but god damn. How fucked up do you have to be to shoot a little girl?

Dude, this is so weird... haha

fucker deserves to rot in hell

wow... crazy shit

Sad as hell.

Man I just dont understand people any more.

:2 cents:

Yep no doubt, I am with you there. Human beings are losing control of themselves and society is decaying.

no ! he was a white dude look like a white trash "was"
Mexican or black people doesn't do this kind of shit in holidays!!!

damn that is fucked up ..

Mexican? Only white guys do this type of shit.

The flame thrower is the strangest part of this story.

Heard about this. Sad it happened...stupid man.

One way trip to Hell!

I'm down in Socal for Christmas and this is all over the news. They just pulled a ninth body from the burned house. What a fucking mess.

Was just reading this before I got here. Shit like this always happens at this time of the year. People like him always go for maximum impact.

Because he felt they ruined his life somehow, so he's gonna ruin theirs before ending his.

I don't know about you, but if someone did something to make me want to off myself, they obviously did something pretty fucking terrible, so I'd probably have the same mentality, they fucked up mine, so why not fuck up theirs?

Make sense... Still sad story.

:Oh crap:Oh crap

"The bloodbath began about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday when an 8-year-old girl attending a Christmas Eve party answered a knock at the door.

A man dressed as Santa and carrying what appeared to a present pulled out a handgun and shot her in the face, then began shooting indiscriminately as partygoers tried to flee."

The worst part of this is that they have only acknowledged the identities of 3 out of 9 people. If he's willing to shoot an 8 year old girl in the face first, I have a sickening feeling that children make up part of that number. I really don't understand people. "I hate my ex wife so I'm going to dress like santa and shoot a little girl in the face." Death is not strong enough a punishment for these people, and they always take the easy route out. Pretty fucked up...