8 Dead,1 Missing in Santa Shooting

Santa Shooting in Covina
A coroner reviews the backyard scene at the house in Covina (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Barbara Davidson)

Sad. Clad in a Santa Suit on Christmas Eve, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo arrived at his ex-wife parent's Covina home and shot and killed at least eight people. Here's how it played out, as described by the LA Times:

An 8-year-old girl ran to answer his knock. When the door swung open, Pardo, 45, shot her in the face with a semiautomatic handgun, stepped into the house and opened fire on the revelers. Amid the chaos, he doused the house with a flammable liquid contained in the package -- a pressurized fuel tank, about 2 1/2 feet tall.

Partygoers fled in panic as the house on Knollcrest Drive went up in flames. They ran to neighbors' homes and frantically called 911. A young woman, according to a neighbor, leaped out of a second-floor window, breaking her ankle.

The 8-year-old girl and another 16-year-old who was also shot survived with non-life-threatening injuries. One person who was at the party is still unaccounted for, according to MSNBC television reports.

Pardo was later found that day at his brother's Sylmar home with a fatal gunshot wound. He was reported to be found with $10,000 in cash and a plane ticket in his underwear.

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Comments (2) [rss]

This is intensely sad, I feel terrible for these families. Is there some way to reach out to them?

Not that I know of yet. If I hear, I'll make sure to post it.

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