The Covina massacre was a mass murder carried out on Christmas Eve, 2008 by a disgruntled ex-husband in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, wearing a Santa suit, entered a property belonging to his former in-laws in Covina and killed nine people by shooting or by arson from the fire he started. Pardo was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot at his brother's residence in the early hours of Christmas Day.
| Covina massacre | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Covina, California, U.S. |
| Date | December 24, 2008 c. 11:30 p.m. (UTC-8) |
| Target | Ex-wife and her family |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, murder-suicide, torching, ex-uxoricide |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 10 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 3 (2 from gunfire) |
| Perpetrator | Bruce Jeffrey Pardo |
Police speculated that Pardo's divorce, which had been finalized only one week before the killings, was a factor in why Pardo had decided to kill his ex-wife and her relatives.[2]
Killings
editAt about 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Bruce Pardo, dressed in a Santa suit, arrived at his former in-law's house in a rental car. He had with him multiple 9mm SIG Sauer handguns and a large gift-wrapped package containing a rolling air compressor converted to spray racing fuel.[3] When he knocked on the door and his 8-year-old niece answered, Pardo pulled out the handguns and immediately shot, wounding her. He then fired indiscriminately at fleeing party-goers.[3]
After opening fire with the handguns, Pardo unwrapped the package containing the compressor and sprayed fuel around the interior of the home.[4] Police believe the fire was intended to be ignited with a flare but when the fuel contacted an open flame in the house there was an explosion. Between the gunfire and the flames, a total of nine family members were killed and three were injured.[5] One of the survivors made it to a neighbor's house, where she called police and identified Pardo as the likely suspect.[3]
Pardo had apparently planned a detailed escape. He had rented multiple vehicles and parked one near the house of his ex-wife's divorce attorney, full of supplies and maps of the Southwest and Mexico. Police speculated the attorney might have also been a target.[5][3] Pardo had also made plans to visit a friend in Iowa and had purchased a Christmas morning plane ticket from Los Angeles to Moline, Illinois. He was also carrying cash strapped to his body.[6]
However, the explosion and fire had left Pardo with third-degree burns on his arms and legs.[5][7] After setting the home on fire, Pardo changed out of the Santa suit and drove to his brother's house in Sylmar, where he was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[3][4] His brother was not present in the home at the time of Pardo's death.[5]
Pardo's rental car, parked one block from his brother's house, contained remnants of his Santa suit, booby-trapped so that moving the suit would trigger a fire and set off 200 rounds of ammunition.[3][8] At Pardo's house in Montrose, police had recovered five empty boxes for semiautomatic handguns, two shotguns and a container for high-octane fuel tank gasoline.[6] They also found what was described as a "virtual bomb-making factory" in his home.[9]
Victims
editIn addition to three injured victims, the nine deceased victims include: Sylvia Ortega Pardo, age 43, ex-wife of Bruce Pardo;[10] Alicia Sotomayor Ortega, age 70, mother-in-law;[11] Joseph S. Ortega, age 79, father-in-law;[11] Charles Ortega, age 50, brother-in-law; Cheri Lynn Ortega, age 45, sister-in-law; James Ortega, age 52, brother-in-law; Teresa Ortega, age 52, sister-in-law; Alicia Ortega Ortiz, age 46, sister-in-law; Michael Andre Ortiz, age 17, nephew.[10]
Motivation
editPardo 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 (née Ortega).[5]
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 for which Pardo did not pay child or spousal support.[6]
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.[8] 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.[12] Pardo and Sylvia finalized their divorce a week prior to the attack.[4]
Depiction in media
editMusic
edit- Poly Styrene, the lead singer of X-Ray Spex, recorded a song in 2010 called "Black Christmas", which contains references to the massacre.
Film
edit- Silent Night, remake of the 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night, has central plot that bears great resemblance to the massacre.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Bartlette, DeLani R. (December 21, 2020). "Bruce Pardo: The Santa Claus Shooter". Medium. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ Moore, Solomon; O'Connor, Anahad (December 27, 2008). "Gunman in Santa Suit Had Ticket to Canada". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Abdollah, Tami; Bloomekatz, Ari B.; Becerra, Hector (December 27, 2008). "Gunman's careful plans went awry". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c "Child greeting 'Santa' was first victim, police say". CNN. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Abdollah, Tami (July 11, 2009). "A solitary man with murder in his heart". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Santa gunman was in bitter divorce, lost job". Associated Press. December 26, 2008.
- ^ Becerra, Hector; Abdollah, Tami (December 31, 2008). "More grim details of Christmas Eve shooting rampage in Covina emerge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ^ a b "Covina's 'Santa Claus' gunman was described by acquaintances as smart and generous but 'quirky'". LA Times. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ "'Santa' Gunman's Marriage Dissolved When Wife Discovered He Abandoned Brain-Damaged Son". Fox News. December 27, 2008.
- ^ a b "Coroner IDs last 2 Covina massacre victims"
- ^ a b "Coroner IDs 6 killed in massacre: Three still unidentified after attack on Christmas Eve". Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- ^ Hoag, Christina (December 26, 2008). "Bruce Jeffrey Pardo: 'Santa' Shooter Planned To Flee To Canada". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
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External links
edit- Covina Holiday Murders – San Gabriel Valley Tribune
- Inside the mind of a killer 'Santa' – Los Angeles Times