ASSOCIATED PRESS: Stinging from an acrimonious divorce, a man plotting revenge against his ex-wife dressed up like Santa, went to his former in-laws’ Christmas Eve party and slaughtered at least six people before killing himself hours later. Three people were listed as missing after Bruce Pardo’s rampage — his ex-wife and her parents — and it was feared their remains were among the ashes of the home, which Pardo set ablaze using a bizarre homemade device that sprayed flammable liquid. MORE
[Photo by AXEL KOESTER for the New York Times]
REUTERS: Survivors told police Pardo seemed to zero in on his ex-spouse and her relatives after he burst into her parents’ home at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, opening fire with four handguns on about 25 party guests there. After running out of bullets, Pardo used a makeshift gas dispenser to spray the inside of the home with a combustible vapor consisting partly of auto-racing fuel, which quickly ignited in an explosion, gutting the dwelling, police said.
Pardo himself suffered third-degree burns in the blast, which melted the Santa suit onto his body. He then fled to his brother’s house about 40 miles away, where authorities later found him dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Some $17,000 in cash and airline tickets for a Thursday flight from Los Angeles to Canada were found on his body.” All indications are that he intended to commit this crime and then flee the country,” Raney said. “It appears … he didn’t anticipate injuring himself to the point where he obviously took his own life.” MORE