Nine dead in U.S. Santa shooting
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The death toll rose to nine on Friday from a Southern California Christmas Eve rampage by a man dressed as Santa Claus who sprayed gunfire at a party at his former in-laws before setting the house on fire, police said.
Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, opened fire on some two dozen guests before igniting the home in Covina, 23 miles (37 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Pardo shot an 8-year-old girl in the face when she opened the door to him and then shot at guests indiscriminately as they tried to flee.
He later committed suicide and his body was found at his brother's house.
"He died of self-inflicted wounds. We believe it was a marital dispute," Lt. Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department told reporters.
Pardo's 43-year-old ex-wife, Sylvia, and her parents were believed to be among the victims.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said the badly burnt bodies from the house would have to be identified through dental records.
Police said they do not know how many of the victims died of gunshot wounds or from the fire.
HOMEMADE INCENDIARY DEVICE
Authorities had cordoned off the charred house on Friday and had set up a large tent and trailers to process evidence as they searched the rubble. Tow trucks removed burnt out vehicles belonging to party-goers who were injured or killed in the attack.
The suspect, carrying two handguns and a homemade incendiary device, began shooting as soon as he entered the house, Buchanan said.
The house, owned by the parents of Pardo's ex-wife, was engulfed in flames when police arrived.
Two people were wounded by gunfire, the 8-year-old girl who opened the door and a 16-year-old girl who was shot in the back as guests fled the house. Some jumped from second-floor windows, police said. The girls' injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Witnesses told police that Pardo stripped off his Santa costume after the shooting and fled in street clothes.
Pardo had no criminal record and was a regular usher at his Catholic church. He and his wife recently settled a contentious divorce after a year of marriage, police said.
Police discovered $10,000 (6,805 pounds) and an airplane ticket on Pardo's body along with his booby-trapped rental car about a block from his brother's home. A pipe bomb and about 300 rounds of handgun ammunition exploded and destroyed the vehicle as police tried to defuse the device.
Bomb-making equipment was also found at Pardo's home in the quiet suburb of Montrose, 13 miles (21 km) north of downtown Los Angeles.
(Additional reporting by Fred Prouser and Deena Beasley; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)