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Okla-homey
12/26/2008, 09:14 AM
:eek: just :eek:


Man in Santa suit kills 8, self on Christmas Eve
Dec 26 09:01 AM US/Eastern
By CHRISTINA HOAG


COVINA, Calif. (AP) - The bloodbath began 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.

By the time it was over, at least eight people at the party were dead and the house was torched. The gunman killed himself hours after exacting revenge against his ex-wife by going on a massacre at his former in-laws' home.

Bruce Pardo's ex-wife and her parents were believed to be among the dead. At daybreak Friday, investigators planned to resume searching what was left of their two-story home on a cul-de-sac in a quiet Covina neighborhood 25 miles east of Los Angeles.

Pardo, 45, had no criminal record and no history of violence, according to police, but he was angry following last week's settlement of his divorce after a marriage that lasted barely a year.

"It was not an amicable divorce," police Lt. Pat Buchanan said.

Investigators seeking further information about Pardo's motives have begun searching his home in the suburban Los Angeles community of Montrose.

Police said he showed up at his former in-laws' home around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday for their annual Christmas party.

The gift-wrapped box Pardo was carrying actually contained a pressurized homemade device he used to spray a liquid that quickly sent the house up in flames. Police said Pardo had recently worked in the aerospace industry.

David Salgado, a neighbor, said he saw the 8-year-old victim being escorted to an ambulance by four SWAT team members as flames up to 40 feet high consumed the house.

"It was really ugly," Salgado said.

Another neighbor, Jan Gregory, said she saw a teenage boy flee the home, screaming "They shot my family!"

A 16-year-old girl was shot in the back, and a 20-year-old woman broke her ankle when she escaped by jumping from a second-story window. Those two, and the 8-year-old, remained hospitalized. All were expected to recover.

When the fire was extinguished early Thursday, officers found three charred bodies in the living room area.

"They were met with a scene that was just indescribable," police Chief Kim Raney said. Investigators found five more bodies amid the ashes later in the day and planned to return Friday to continue looking.

None of the dead or missing has been identified. Authorities were unable to immediately determine whether the victims were killed by the flames or the gunfire.

Following the shootings, Pardo quickly got out of the Santa suit and drove off, witnesses told police. He went to his brother's home about 25 miles away in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles. No one was home, so Pardo let himself in, police said.

Police were called to the home early Thursday, and officers found Pardo dead of a single bullet to the head. Two handguns were found at the scene, and two more were discovered in the wreckage of his former in-laws' house.

A car that Pardo apparently parked near his brother's home exploded Thursday evening and more ammunition was found in it, Los Angeles police Sgt. Francisco Wheeling said. She had no immediate details on what set off the explosion. No one was hurt.

Pardo's next-door neighbor, who did not want her name published to protect her privacy, said he moved in more than a year ago with a woman and a child. She said they kept mostly to themselves and the woman later moved out with the child.

Pardo was often seen walking a dog around the neighborhood and working on his lawn, the neighbor said.

He also served regularly as an usher at evening Mass at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Jan Detanna, the head usher at the church, was stunned when told about the violence.

"I'm just—this is shocking," Detanna told the Times. "He was the nicest guy you could imagine. Always a pleasure to talk to, always a big smile."

Bong Garcia, another of Pardo's next-door neighbors, told the Times he saw Pardo between 9 and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve and spoke briefly to him. Pardo told him he was on his way to a Christmas party, Garcia said.

___

StoopTroup
12/26/2008, 09:52 AM
Definitely California.


Bong Garcia

www.facebook.com/people/Bong-Garcia (http://www.facebook.com/people/Bong-Garcia/1215227883)

Harry Beanbag
12/26/2008, 09:59 AM
Whoa.

Viking Kitten
12/26/2008, 10:08 AM
My God. Those poor kids. I hope the dude rots in hell. You have to wonder, though, what went down in that marriage that would cause a person to simply snap like that. Not that I'm suggesting anything could possibly justify what he did, mind you, I'm just curious as to what it took to push this guy over the edge.

sooner_born_1960
12/26/2008, 01:29 PM
Another one that got the order wrong. He should have killed himself first, then gone after others.

OUHOMER
12/26/2008, 02:49 PM
They found a ninth body today. I am like VK, what makes a guy snap like this. I can maybe understand wanting to shoot the ex, but damn. Shoot a little girl that opened the door and than everybody..

I think there is more to the story, that we will never know. But yes, may his soul burn in hell forever.

olevetonahill
12/26/2008, 03:11 PM
I saw that they had retrieved another Body .:(
Had to be Dope involved some how .

kbsooner21
12/26/2008, 03:18 PM
Un****ingbelievable...

BigRedJed
12/26/2008, 04:53 PM
They found a ninth body today. I am like VK, what makes a guy snap like this. I can maybe understand wanting to shoot the ex, but damn. Shoot a little girl that opened the door and than everybody..

I think there is more to the story, that we will never know. But yes, may his soul burn in hell forever.
I think the answer is that whatever made the dude capable of that act probably did NOT happen during that marriage.

GottaHavePride
12/26/2008, 05:24 PM
I'm thinking that whatever made the guy capable of that may well BE the reason for the divorce. As in, once the lady realized he was ****ing insane, she ran like crazy.

SoonerKnight
12/27/2008, 11:00 AM
My God. Those poor kids. I hope the dude rots in hell. You have to wonder, though, what went down in that marriage that would cause a person to simply snap like that. Not that I'm suggesting anything could possibly justify what he did, mind you, I'm just curious as to what it took to push this guy over the edge.

To answer that question the guy lost his job in June and last week was ordered to pay $10,000 to his ex-wife.

MojoRisen
12/27/2008, 11:33 AM
California has the most redicoulos divorce laws.... They should make it harder to get divorce or more amiable...

The man almost always get the screws in California...

Jerk
12/27/2008, 12:31 PM
Oh come on, Bri! Just say it! If you won't, then maybe Tear Down This Wall will.

(ok nevermind that was a little over the top)

The guy was already a psychopath, and after the court took away almost everything he had, he had nothing to lose.

Did his license plate say D Fense?

BigRedJed
12/27/2008, 02:36 PM
To answer that question the guy lost his job in June and last week was ordered to pay $10,000 to his ex-wife.
Hmmm... ...I've lost jobs before. I've also been in debt of $10,000+, more than once in fact. Nope, still haven't killed anyone.

BigRedJed
12/27/2008, 02:36 PM
Shocking, I know.

olevetonahill
12/27/2008, 03:47 PM
Hmmm... ...I've lost jobs before. I've also been in debt of $10,000+, more than once in fact. Nope, still haven't killed anyone.

Punanny.

badger
12/28/2008, 04:15 PM
California has the most redicoulos divorce laws.... They should make it harder to get divorce or more amiable...

The man almost always get the screws in California...

The man gets screwed worse in Britian. Did you hear about Paul McCartney having to pay the ex millions even though he was a Beatle long before ever meeting her?

Perhaps liberal California just figures that the woman usually was the one screwed throughout history so it's time for payback... but who shall be the man screwed when a marriage between two men ends in divorce?

As for this case, it's timing couldn't have been worse, given the holidays and the fact that he dressed as Santa and such. Terrible

GottaHavePride
12/28/2008, 05:52 PM
Apparently he was planing to escape to Canada, but his home-made arson kit malfunctioned and melted the santa suit to his body.

stoopified
12/29/2008, 11:50 AM
Was this guy from Austin?It WOULD explain a lot. :D

soonerbrat
12/29/2008, 12:09 PM
The man gets screwed worse in Britian. Did you hear about Paul McCartney having to pay the ex millions even though he was a Beatle long before ever meeting her?

Perhaps liberal California just figures that the woman usually was the one screwed throughout history so it's time for payback... but who shall be the man screwed when a marriage between two men ends in divorce?

As for this case, it's timing couldn't have been worse, given the holidays and the fact that he dressed as Santa and such. Terrible

community property state...needed a pre-nup

Oldnslo
12/29/2008, 02:22 PM
no matter how the divorce was going down, I'm pretty sure the 8 year old girl didn't do anything to cause it.

Unlike the rest of you, I hope this guy lives a long life, with plenty of time on his hands to reflect upon his actions.


but okay,

then, after that, he can find a wet corner of Hell.

Viking Kitten
12/29/2008, 02:48 PM
Santa est mort.

And I get that Santa ate a big bowl of crazy long before he ever met the ex-wife, I'm just suggesting that since he went 40-odd years without a violent incident, the traumatic divorce obviously triggered impulses he's been able to repress.

We have a nasty, badly Christmas-timed divorce in my family too, and I saw someone go pretty near that edge. A former cop who was armed to the hilt. Would he have gone as far as this guy did? I'll never know. I think lives (maybe mine) were in jeopardy, but luckily some supportive relatives recognized what was happening and talked the man down.

I can tell you from experience the divorce situation in my family should have been handled better since the guy was known to be unstable.

MojoRisen
12/29/2008, 04:18 PM
I am surprised that stuff doesn't happen more often really... With some of the divorce stories I hear about and how one-sided it can be.

I straight up fear marriage- with out a pre-nump to keep lawyers off the money and violence to a minimum- but I am looked like an arsehat because I would want some parameters around a divorce in writting before I plunge my assets into the hands of fate and State Law..

This one pretty much takes the cake as far as premeditation and sickness to dress like Santa and kill a kid.... Horrible

He was not even bold enough to explain to people why he did it and killed himself. Cowardly

Okla-homey
12/29/2008, 08:42 PM
I am surprised that stuff doesn't happen more often really... With some of the divorce stories I hear about and how one-sided it can be.

I straight up fear marriage- with out a pre-nump to keep lawyers off the money and violence to a minimum- but I am looked like an arsehat because I would want some parameters around a divorce in writting before I plunge my assets into the hands of fate and State Law..



Thou art wise.

Pre-nups, also known as ante-nuptial agreements, are great ways to contract around what can happen when the statutes and the judge pursue their ordinary course in a deevorce. Similar to the way wills and trusts prevent the guys on Lincoln Boulevard in OKC from deciding who gets your stuff.

Or, alternatively, you can skip the pre-nup and do what Ol'Vet does and buy some woman you hate a house every 7 years or so.;)

BigRedJed
12/30/2008, 01:44 AM
If you need a pre-nup you are either a kazillionaire, or you shouldn't be getting married in the first place.

Oldnslo
12/30/2008, 11:16 AM
nothing more fun than litigating a prenup! If there wasn't full disclosure of all assets, they can go kaput.