Bruce Pardo

Background

Bruce Pardo was 45 years old. He dressed in a Santa suit while inside a house where a Christmas Eve party was being held, and he committed suicide by shooting himself the same day. Authorities cited marital problems as a possible motive for the violence.

Pardo’s divorce had been finalized December 18, one week prior to the massacre. Police said people at the party were jumping out of windows on both floors of the house trying to escape the gunfire and flames. A Christmas Eve party at the house had been a family tradition, and the party had often featured a visit from a neighbor who was dressed as Santa Claus.

Pardo had been fired from his job as an electrical engineer at ITT Electronic Systems Radar Systems in July, after which the court suspended the payments due to job hardship. In June 2008, divorce court had ordered Bruce Pardo to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support. During divorce proceedings, Pardo had confided to a friend that his wife was “taking him to the cleaners.” Pardo was required to pay Sylvia $10,000 as part of the divorce settlement, according to court documents. Sylvia kept the wedding ring and the family dog. In a court declaration, Pardo complained 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 fine restaurants, massages, and golf lessons.

Pardo complained in a filing that he had monthly expenses of $8,900 and ran a monthly deficit of $2,678. He also had $31,000 in credit card debt and a $2,700 monthly mortgage payment. He wrote, “I was not given a severance package from my last employer at termination and I am not receiving any other income,” and, “I am desperately seeking work.” A court ordered Pardo to pay his ex-wife $1,785 a month in spousal support, plus $3,570 for past payments. When the divorce was settled, the court waived those payments and Bruce Pardo got the house, but he had to pay his ex-wife $10,000, return her valuable diamond wedding ring, and give her custody of the dog.

There was speculation that the divorce may have been caused by Pardo concealing a child from a previous relationship. The child had been severely injured in a swimming pool accident several years previous. Medical costs reached $340,000. Lucano sued Pardo to obtain money from his $100,000 homeowner’s insurance policy, and about $36,000 was put into a trust fund for the boy, who required constant care. Pardo never contributed any more money to the boy’s care. Alvirez said, “He never spent a dime on his son,” and, “He never spent a dime on his son,” appears in connection with his claim that Pardo did not contribute to the boy’s care.

Pardo had no history of violence and had no previous criminal record. Friends described him as kind and gentle, and he volunteered as an usher at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose, including at the children’s Mass and also as an usher at the Christmas Eve midnight Mass. A neighbor said Pardo always decorated his home for the holidays. Another neighbor said when he encountered Pardo in his yard about two hours before the attack, “He seemed normal.” A neighbor also said, “He said 'Merry Christmas' to me,” and those quotes were attributed to Patrick Guzman.

Pardo planned to flee to Canada after the killings but was badly burned in the fire to the point that part of the Santa suit melted to him, and he decided to kill himself instead. Pardo had a plane ticket and $17,000 in cash strapped to his body. Investigators were unsure if he intended to go or if the flight was to fool investigators.

The offence

The Covina massacre occurred on December 24, 2008, in Covina, California. Nine people were killed from either gunshot wounds or an arson fire inside a house where a Christmas Eve party was being held.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. PST, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo knocked on the door of his former in-laws’ house. The house was occupied with about 25 people. He was dressed in a Santa Claus suit while carrying a gift-wrapped package containing a homemade flamethrower in one hand and a semi-automatic handgun in the other hand. He also had three additional semi-automatic handguns in his possession.

When the door opened, Pardo fired the handgun at an eight-year-old girl as she ran to greet him, injuring her in the face. He then fired indiscriminately at fleeing partygoers. Police speculated that he may have stood over and pointedly executed some of the victims using the other handguns.

After the shootings, Pardo unwrapped the package and used the homemade flamethrower to spray racing fuel gasoline to set the home ablaze. Police said he used an apparently homemade pressurized device to spread some kind of accelerant and sprayed the room with the jet fuel. The fire soared approximately 40 to 50 feet, and the resulting blaze took 80 firefighters an hour-and-a-half to extinguish.

There was one survivor who called the authorities during the attack after escaping to a neighbor’s house. Police received several 911 calls with reports of shots fired at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night, and officers heard gunshots after they arrived and found the house in flames. At first, firefighters were held back by police because shots were still being fired, though it may have been ammunition burning in the blaze.

A 16-year-old girl was shot and wounded in the back and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. A 20-year-old woman suffered a broken ankle jumping out of the second-floor window. The eight-year-old girl survived with severe but non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigation

Due to the intensity of the fire, identification of the victims had been done by referencing dental and medical records. Ed Winter said dental records and medical records and X-rays would be necessary to establish identities. Ed Winter also said, “We have multiple bodies inside,” and, “They're extremely charred and burned.” He further said, “The bodies were too badly burned to immediately determine whether they died in the shootings or the fire.”

Police officers initially saw three bodies in the front portion of the house. Firefighters extinguished the blaze by about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. The intense fire caused the top floor of the two-story house to collapse onto the first floor.

Police continued to search and identify victims, and relatives returning to the brother’s house found Pardo’s body. Police said his brother was not present in the home at the time of Pardo’s death.

Authorities received reports of a possible escape plan. It was initially believed that Pardo intended to flee to Canada by plane as he had bought an airline ticket to a flight on Air Canada. Subsequently, it was discovered the flight was from Los Angeles to Moline, Illinois with a layover in Minnesota.

Investigators found threats and devices connected to Pardo’s movement after the attack. Police found $17,000 in cash cling-wrapped on his legs inside a girdle, and his Dodge Caliber rental car parked one block from his brother’s house, which had been rigged by remnants of his Santa suit that would ignite a flame and detonate the car with black powder if removed. Suggesting that what had been inside the car was being treated as a threat, a bomb squad fired an incendiary device into it, destroying and burning the car. The bomb squad later attempted to render safe a suspicious device in the rental car when it erupted in flames. A pipe bomb exploded in the rental car used earlier.

From the scene, investigators recovered four 13-round capacity handguns that were each empty, and at least 200 rounds of ammunition. Also recovered from Pardo’s house in Montrose were five empty boxes for semi-automatic handguns, two shotguns, and a container for high octane fuel tank gasoline. A pipe bomb also exploded in the rental car, and police said a police bomb squad was attempting to render safe a suspicious device when it erupted in flames.

Authorities also evacuated houses near Pardo’s home in suburban Montrose out of concern he may have left bombs behind there, and the street was reopened late Thursday.

A second rental car, a gray 1999 Toyota RAV 4, was later found in Glendale. No explosives were found inside the second car; investigators found a gas can, two computers, and a map of Mexico.

Police said Pardo had called days before to tell his high school friend that he was planning to visit, but investigators were unsure if he intended to go or if the flight was to fool investigators. Pardo had visited the friend before in October 2008.

Arrest / Custody

No arrest was recorded because Pardo died by suicide.

Trial / Proceedings

No trial, charges, or courtroom proceedings were described in the case summary.

Sentencing / Appeals

No sentencing or appeals were described in the case summary.

Outcome

Pardo died at his brother’s residence in Sylmar. Police said he was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the attack. Authorities recovered Pardo’s body about 30 to 40 miles from the Covina shooting scene.

At least three victims’ deaths were caused by gunshot wounds alone, while four others died from a combination of both gunshot wounds and fire; two other deaths stemmed from the fire alone. Investigators listed multiple victims as missing pending identification, due to the severe burning.

Three people believed to be Pardo’s ex-wife and his former in-laws officially remained missing pending identification of the bodies.

Ed Winter said, “We have multiple bodies inside,” and, “They're extremely charred and burned.”

Aftermath

Victim identification included the following names and ages:

• Sylvia Ortega Pardo, 43
• Alicia Ortega, 70
• Joseph Ortega, 80
• Charles Ortega, 49
• Cheri Ortega, 45
• James Ortega, 51
• Teresa Ortega, 52
• Alicia Ortega Ortiz, 46
• Michael Ortiz, 17

Other victims were referenced as Sylvia Pardo’s former in-laws and extended family members, including Sylvia Pardo’s brother Charles Ortega and brother James Ortega, and Sylvia Pardo’s sister Alicia Ortega Ortiz and her son Michael Ortiz.

Police continued to search charred remains and delayed identification due to burn severity. The resulting fire took 80 firefighters an hour-and-a-half to extinguish and destroyed a two-story home on a cul-de-sac. The neighborhood was described as quiet and mostly retirees and elderly people.

At a community gathering, Mayor Kevin Stapleton asked residents to respect the privacy of surviving family members and neighbors and asked that people not visit the location. A psychiatrist and volunteer trauma therapist David Singer advised parents on how to talk to children confused by the idea of Santa Claus committing a crime. Singer said, “He was so full of hate that he had to disguise his hate by dressing up as someone full of love — Santa Claus.”

Neighbors described shock and continued holiday decorations near the house. One person said, “People die every day but the way this happened is awful,” and those quotes were attributed to Jill Amparan. Another person, Elizabeth Chavez, described her 9-year-old daughter being riveted by the story and said, “She brought a newspaper article to day care to show her teacher,” quoting Chavez. Cindy Keenan said, “He's very nice, very sociable,” and, “He seemed normal,” attributed to Patrick Guzman. Another statement attributed to Rosa Ordaz was recorded in connection with shock at the killings: “To know that one individual, one coward, could bring so much devastation and heartache to a family.”

Other details

Pardo dressed as Santa Claus and knocked on the door to the well-to-do house in Covina just before 11.30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, according to the case narrative.

A quote from the emergency dispatcher context recorded as coming from Pardo’s ex-sister-in-law, Leticia, was: “I need someone immediately. My daughter's been shot. She was shot in the face.”

Another emergency-related quote attributed to Leticia included: “He's shooting my whole family. My mum's house is on fire,”

A neighbor, Jeannie Goltz, said she saw three more partygoers fleeing the burning home. A neighbor, Joshua Chavez, said he heard a loud explosion and black smoke and flame. Another quote attributed to Jeannie Goltz and Joshua Chavez was included as they described what they saw and heard.

Investigators stated Pardo’s ability to construct a homemade napalm gun was probably related to his training in the aerospace industry. Police chief Kim Raney said, “The information we have so far is that Mr. Pardo was married to the daughter of the resident of the house,” and also, “They'd been married for possibly one year, had recently divorced and a settlement was reached apparently last week. It sounds like that might have been a very contentious divorce.”

Lt. Pat Buchanan said, “He was going through some type of marital problems,” and also, “We believe that this residence is a relative's residence.” Buchanan also said, “We don't know at this point whether he was aware that there was a Santa Claus in years past,” and, “We're assuming that he did, and that's the reason for the outfit.”

Buchanan also said police received several 911 calls at 11:27 p.m. Wednesday and arrived three to four minutes after the first call, and, “The fire was so intense,” and that officers initially saw three bodies in the front portion of the house from outside. Buchanan also said, “We have multiple bodies inside,” and “They're extremely charred and burned” as attributed to Ed Winter, though Winter is separate in the narrative.

The case narrative also included that Pardo had planned to kill his mother and his ex-wife’s divorce attorney but committed suicide before he could