Fugitive on Video Shooting Deputy
Suspected Psycho Killer Santa Bruce Jeffrey Pardo Suicides: Death Toll in Christmas Massacre May Rise to 9
Thursday, December 25, 2008 at 10:47 pm
AP video about the Covina attack committed by a madman in a Santa suit.
Covina, CA -- Six bodies have been found in the burned-out home where a man in a Santa costume opened fire during a party on Christmas Eve. The suspect in the massacre, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, has committed suicide. He was found early Christmas day at his brother's residence in Sylmar, California.
The death toll from this mass murder could go up to 8, according to the Los Angeles Times.
According to the LA paper and other press outlets, Pardo was angry over a bitter divorce and the focus of his rage was a party being given at his in-laws' residence on Knollcrest Drive in Covina.
It looks as though Bruce Pardo's act was planned and executed with calculated cruelty.
He showed up wearing a Santa suit and bearing what appeared to be a present. An 8-year-old girl inside the residence, perhaps having a natural reaction to the sight of Santa bearing a gift, opened the front door. That was when Pardo opened fire, shooting the girl in the face. She was, fortunately, said to be among the survivors.
Pardo then entered the home, firing his handgun all the way. And inside the "present," police believe Pardo carried what the Times termed a "a home-made pressurized device" that the killer used "to spray some kind of flammable substance."
So the house eventually erupted in flames. In spite of emergency services flooding the cul-de-sac where the tragedy occurred, Pardo got away. He showed up again around 3:30 Christmas morning, some 25 miles away in Sylmar. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo was dead from a bullet to the head.
The book on Pardo so far has been that he was an outwardly nice guy, a devout Catholic who'd recently divorced. He may have also lost his job.
One reason the death toll from Pardo's attack is still unclear -- the intensity of the fire that destroyed the 2-story suburban home. Many of the remains were charred and may be difficult to identify. [SGVTribune.com, LAT]
Tags: arson, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, Bruce Pardo, Christmas Eve massacre, Covina California, mass murder, mass shooting, massacre, Santa Suit
More links from around the web!
