Covina massacre

At approximately 11:30 p.m. PST, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed in a Santa Claus suit, knocked on the door of his former in-laws' house, occupied by about 25 people, with a gift-wrapped package containing a rolling air compressor converted to deliver gasoline from it and at least four 9mm semi-automatic handguns. Moments after the door opened, Pardo pulled out the handguns and immediately shot his 8-year-old niece Katrina Yuzefpolsky, the daughter of Leticia Yuzefpolsky, a sister of Sylvia Pardo, as she ran to greet him, injuring her in the face.[6] He then fired indiscriminately at fleeing party-goers. Police speculate that Pardo may have stood over and pointedly executed some of the victims, using the other handguns.[7]

After opening fire with the handguns, Pardo unwrapped the package containing the compressor and used it to spray gasoline to set the home ablaze.[8][9] Nine people died from either gunfire or flames, and three others were wounded: Yuzefpolsky was shot in the face with severe but non-life-threatening injuries, a 16-year-old girl shot and wounded in the back, and a 20-year-old woman who suffered a broken ankle jumping out of the second-floor window.[9][10] One survivor escaped during the attack and ran to a neighbor's house where they called authorities.[11] The resulting fire soared approximately 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m) and took 80 firefighters an hour-and-a-half to extinguish. Due to the intensity of the fire, identification of the victims was done with dental and medical records.

After setting the home on fire, Pardo put on his street clothes and drove his Dodge Caliber rental car to his brother's house in Sylmar about 30 miles away from the crime scene, where he was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[7] His brother was not present in the home at the time of Pardo's death.[9] It was initially believed that Pardo intended to flee to Canada by plane since he had bought an airline ticket for a flight on Air Canada. However, it was subsequently discovered that the flight itinerary, on Northwest Airlines, was from Los Angeles to Moline, Illinois (with a layover in Minnesota). Pardo had called days before to tell a high school friend that he was planning to visit but investigators were unsure if he actually intended to visit or if the flight was to fool investigators.[12] He had visited the friend before in October 2008. Other reports stated that the Santa suit had melted during the flamethrower portion of the attack and had adhered to his skin so not all of it could be removed.

However, suffering from severe third-degree burns on his arms stemming from the blaze, Pardo decided to go against the initial plan.[7][9] Police found $17,000 in cash cling-wrapped on his legs inside a girdle. His rental car, parked one block from his brother's house, had remnants of his Santa suit. Also recovered from the scene were four 13-round capacity handguns that were empty, and at least 200 rounds of ammunition.[7] Suggesting that what had been inside the car was being treated as a threat, a bomb squad while attempting to remove a portion of the Santa suit with a robot, accidentally started a fire in the vehicle, burning and destroying it.[10] At Pardo's house in Montrose, police had recovered five empty boxes for semiautomatic handguns, a Benelli M2 Tactical shotgun and a container for high-octane fuel tank gasoline. They also found what was described as a "virtual bomb factory" in his home.[9]

Pardo lived in the San Fernando Valley and was a graduate of John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, Los Angeles, and California State University, Northridge. He had worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. In 2004, he met Sylvia Pardo (nee Ortega).[12]

Police speculate that the motive of Pardo's attack was related to marital problems. After the couple wed in January 2006, their marriage quickly fell apart within the first year because Pardo refused to open a joint bank account with Sylvia; he also expected his wife to use her own finances to take care of her own three children. There is some speculation that the divorce may have also been caused by Pardo concealing a child from a previous relationship. This child had been severely injured in a swimming pool accident several years prior for which Pardo did not pay child or spousal support.[4]

In June 2008, a divorce court ordered Pardo to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support. During the divorce proceedings, Pardo confided to a friend his wife was "taking him to the cleaners." In July, Pardo, who had no criminal record or history of violence, was fired from his job as an electrical engineer at ITT Corporation Electronic Systems Radar Systems for billing false hours. The divorce court suspended the support payments due to financial hardship.[17] However, as part of the divorce settlement, Pardo was required to pay his ex-wife $10,000, and she was permitted to keep her wedding ring and family dog. Pardo complained to the court that Sylvia was living with her parents, not paying rent, and had spent lavishly on a luxury car, gambling trips to Las Vegas, meals at expensive restaurants, massages, and golf lessons.[18] Pardo and Sylvia finalized their divorce a week prior to the attack.[9]

• List of massacres in the United States
• List of homicides in California
• 2011 Grand Rapids mass murder
• 2011 Seal Beach shooting
• Azana Spa shooting
• 2014 Harris County shooting
• Carthage nursing home shooting

• Covina Holiday Murders – San Gabriel Valley Tribune
• Inside the mind of a killer 'Santa' – Los Angeles Times

34°04′49.4″N 117°52′02.5″W