It was the night of Christmas Eve when horror unfolded in a quiet cul-de-sac in Los Angeles County, California. An eight-year-old girl opened the front door to see a man dressed as Father Christmas carrying a large present.
That man was 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, a devoted Roman Catholic and aerospace industry worker. He abruptly shot the young girl in the face before stepping over her and using one or two semi-automatic handguns to spray bullets around the house, where about 25 people, including many children, had gathered for the party.
He was looking for his ex-wife Sylvia, with whom he had been involved in a contentious divorce which had concluded on 18 December, ending two years of marriage.
Police recovered nine charred bodies, none of which could be positively identified until dental records were examined. Jan Gregory, a neighbour, said she saw a teenage boy running from the house and screaming: “They shot my family!”
Pardo was found dead at one of his brother’s houses hours later, with five guns found near his body. Police said that Pardo – who had no criminal record or history of violence – killed himself after suffering burns on one arm.
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