Eight Dead In Xmas Eve Rampage

Man Dressed As Santa Went On Shooting Spree At Home Of Former In-Laws, Set House Ablaze With Bizarre Device

(CBS/AP)  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 eight people before killing himself hours later.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office says eight bodies have been found in the rubble of the home, which Pardo set ablaze using a bizarre homemade device that sprayed flammable liquid.

Investigators ended their search Thursday night for other possible victims of the rampage, but planned to return to the scene Friday.

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.

Pardo chose to exact his revenge at the annual Christmas party his former in-laws held at their two-story home on a cul-de-sac in a quiet Covina neighborhood 25 miles east of Los Angeles.

In past years, a neighbor dressed as Santa Claus and entertained guests. But the neighbor had moved away and there was no Santa - until Pardo arrived about 11:30 p.m.

The massacre began when an 8-year-old girl answered Pardo's knock at the door. Pardo, carrying what appeared to be a large present, pulled out a handgun and shot her in the face, then began shooting indiscriminately as about 25 partygoers tried to flee, police said.

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 Christmas Day. All were expected to recover.

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 is 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 (12 meters) high consumed the house.

"It was really ugly," Salgado said.

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 three more bodies amid the ashes later in the day.

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

Police found Pardo's body at the home of his brother early Thursday in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles. Pardo had died from a single gunshot wound to the head, Los Angeles police Sgt. Martin Guerrero said.

CBS Station KCBS in Los Angeles reports that about 80 firefighters battled the fire. Police said they heard popping sounds inside, which may have been ammunition or car tires, KCBS reported.

Winter said the search through the destroyed home would take at least until the end of the day.

Jan Gregory, a neighbor, said about 25 people were at the party when the gunshots rang out and people started running by the house.

She said she saw a teenage boy run from the house screaming, "They shot my family."

"They're so lost," Rosa Ordaz, a family friend, told KCBS. "(They're) crying and upset, angry at this coward."

"Christmases were that special time of the year, it meant so much to them," Ordaz said.

Every year, the tight-knit family looked forward to their Christmas Eve gathering, according to Ordaz, who said she thinks that may have been why the suspect chose to attack at that time.

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

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.

[puzzler125]

Just think, and I''m very serious, if just one other person at the party had been armed perhaps they could have shot this horrible man before he killed more people.

[omega40]

In the same paragraph you state that the Security Gueard shot the woman, and then that the gun killed the woman. You are as confused as your argument.

Posted by DaVicar3

Why??? I assume the gun was arrested around the same time as the guard. The gun was probably charged with being an accessory to murder/manslaughter and given the death penalty (melted down).

[gatofeo]

In earlier post, it was suggested that firearm safety be taught in schools. That suggestion was severely criticized.
Yet, I wonder why?
Why is it that every social ill -- drugs, alcohol, sexual diseases, dangerous driving, intolerance and a host of others -- is said to be curable or reduced through education?
"Education is the key," we are told.
Yet, when it comes to firearms, leave the kids ignorant. Let them continue to learn atrociously unsafe gun handling practices from movies, TV and video games.
Continue to leave guns as a "forbidden fruit" mystery and don''t broach the issue, seems to be the mantra.
I believe that firearms safety would go a long way toward not only reducing accidents, but would remove the mystery and "forbidden fruit" aura of firearms.
However, I don''t believe it should be mandatory. Parents should determine if their child attends the class.
I fired my first gun at the age of 5, a .22 rifle. But before I did, my father ensured I understood basic safety. Before long, these safety measures became second nature: don''t load until you''re ready to shoot, always point it downrange, when not in use the gun must be empty and the action open, etc.
Education remains the key today. Allow kids to shoot a real firearm, or even an air rifle, and you''ll remove much of the mystery and bravado that people attach to guns.

[quietamercan]

I''ve been reading comments on this website for a couple of years. Consistently, when there is a story about someone getting shot, the comments turn into a gun control debate. Both sides cite widely differing statistics from different studies. Both sides say the studies from the other side are inaccurate and/or have been disproven. Both sides claim to hold the majority opinion. Both sides call each other names and say the other side is lying.
No one seems to ever change their mind.

[tonic12345]

mnelsonix do you know that the law allows anyone to have an ak47 what more do you want.

[nzdk]

What a terrible thing that happened to those innocent people. Those who knew Pardo say he was a wonderful guy & are shocked by this. Lets question a few things, shall we? How long did his wife know him before making decision to spend the rest of her life with him? And she had a child? Did she consider for any length the promise she made to this man to love him ''til death do you part'' ? It appears she divorced him. Why? Had she contemplated such a commitment thoroughly before saying "I do"? This does not excuse at all, ever, what he did. But when someone makes a promise to another, doesn''t that mean anything anymore? How about not making a promise and changing someones life before you really know them...can she not be held responsible for this in any way, shape or form? Would he have done this the previous year, had they not married? Look at this from ALL perspectives, people! What he did was very, very wrong....but what lead a decent and kind man (according to his church) to commit such a terrible crime and take his own life...

[xxunknown]

US gun laws are insane.
Posted by yamuttya
------------------------
Right, because that bomb he made and the flammable liquid wouldnt have hurt anyone.

[mediabrat60]

Wow....Edwin, are you related to Pardo?
You sound like you may carry that same gene that causes mental breakdown, like, something just doesn''t connect right in the brain?
You probably want to seek mental help and talk about what your feeling...........there is help.

[tmn]

Was his first name Don?

Is this the Don Pardo I''ve heard so much about?

[Cas2dy]

EdwinLJones ;
No woman has the power to make a man start shooting little girls in the face point blank. That takes a special kind of man. A real man knows that when he''s lost everything that he can dry up like an old vegetable or become a drunk or a hobo or he can look for other means to fulfill his life by starting over and starting small. Choices are available to all of us and in the event that those choices are not what we would have originally gone for, acceptance becomes a key element in reinventing our own lives, not destroying others. I''d rather be a homeless woman on the street or be placed in a mental institution for life than to die knowing that I''d harmed innocent people just because they knew someone I hated.

[countrywunz-2009]

THIS happens in a world that the devil is in charge and he has people over others and money and there will be coruption in everything in this life and that very sad but its the truth,there will never be heaven here in HELL,THIS WORLD IS WONDER,ITS JUST THE PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD THAT DAMAGES OTHERS.THERE ONE SAYING I KNOW,YOU GOT TO GO TO HELL BEFORE YOU GET TO HEAVEN,THE PLAIN FACT,THANK YOU.

[armydog2]

No I am not confused in the least bit davicar and rowdy someone should just beat the s-hit out of you for being such a stupid b-itch. If a gun wasn''t there and he tried to beat her someone could have helped her, he pumped 5 rounds into her chest no time to help at all, the first shot probably killed her.

[webburns-2009]

So, you missed the main store again. What did the attorney get the judge to approve? Was it a lie! Was it to much for him, maybe forcing him into bankruptcy? Again the lawyers get off without a comment from the News. Maybe you should find out what her attorney filled in the motions.

[formrusmcsgt]

You still porking your married preacher?

Posted by earache4 at 07:57 AM : Dec 26, 2008

Shouldn''t that be the other way around?

[formrusmcsgt]

One can only wonder what happens within the minds of those who can not accept that a relationship has ended....."be with me or die" is, at the very least, a bizarre perspective.

[omega40]

Posted by RowdynTex at 07:35 AM

So, who am I today Rowdy?

Posted by earache4 a

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together - The Walrus??

[whitewolf60]

Sad that eight people had to die just because of his spoiled a$$.... at least he had the good grace to kill HIMSELF! ( I know, I shouldn''t be that way....)

[tallinson]

"London Calling With ao many guns when all you A holes are gone and the bodies cleaned up please let me know Ill take California you low life loosers!

Posted by jerryomara at 06:16 AM : Dec 26, 2008"

Jerry,
Just what is the purpose of this post? Is it your vain attempt to make yourself and your people seem superior to those of us in the USA? If it is, may I point out that you have failed miserably.
Tom

[omega40]

I read the article, and the comments on guns. Excuse Me, but this guy had another device like gasoline or something that he sprayed all over the place, no doubt including some of the people, then he lit them up! Sooo, tomorrow, I suppose we should ban gasoline? If he had smashed through the wall of the house with a truck, and hurt people, then, should we ban trucks?? If we could just ban the murderers, all would be solved.

Posted by oledakota a

No Doubt...Still, while spouting the NRA line of reasoning, and pointing your finger at that ticking time bomb known as the potato masher sitting in your silverware drawer.....You might mention in passing that guns are specifically engineered to kill.

[armydog2]

There was a shooting at a Lockheed Martin plant in northeast pa. last week. A contract security guard was dating a secretary. she broke it off, he shot her in the chest five times with a 9mm handgun, and then killed himself. He was the only person in the facility allowed to carry a weapon. Guns KILL!!!!! She was a mom with two children.