Covina massacre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Covina massacre
Part of mass shootings in the United States
Bruce Jeffrey Pardo
Location	Covina, California, United States
Date	December 24, 2008 (2008-12-24) c. 11:30 p.m. (UTC-8)
Target	Ex-wife and her family
Attack type	Mass murder, torching
Weapons	Four semi-automatic handguns Homemade flamethrower
Deaths	10 (including the perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries	3 (2 from gunfire)
Perpetrator	Bruce Jeffrey Pardo

The Covina massacre occurred on December 24, 2008, in Covina, a city in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, United States. Nine people were killed, either by gunshot wounds or in an arson fire inside a house at 1129 East Knollcrest Drive, where a Christmas Eve party was being held. The perpetrator, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who had entered the house wearing a Santa suit, died at his brother's residence in the early hours of the morning after the attack. Authorities cited marital problems as a possible motive for the violence; reports indicated that Pardo's divorce had been finalized on December 18, one week before the massacre. Three people, including Pardo's ex-wife and his former in-laws, were initially declared missing pending identification of their bodies.

Attack

At approximately 11:30 p.m. PST, 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. 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.

After the shootings, Pardo unwrapped the package containing the compressor, and used it to spray gasoline to set the home ablaze. Nine people died from either gunfire or flames, and three others were wounded: Yuzefpolsky was shot with severe but non-life-threatening injuries, a 16-year-old girl shot and wounded, and a 20-year-old woman who suffered a broken ankle jumping out of the second-floor window. One survivor escaped during the attack and ran to a neighbor's house, where they called authorities. 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. His brother was not present in the home at the time of Pardo's death. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Perpetrator

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 worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. He met Sylvia Pardo, previously Sylvia Ortega, in 2004.

Police speculate that the motive of the attack was related to marital problems. Pardo's wife of one year had finalized their divorce the week prior to the attack. However, Pardo held no criminal record and had no history of violence. He had been fired from his job as an electrical engineer at ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems in July. There is some speculation that the divorce may have been caused by Pardo concealing a child from a previous relationship. This child was severely injured in a swimming pool accident several years prior. He did not support his child, nor did he pay any support to his ex-wife and her children.

The couple wed in January 2006, but soon grew apart after their marriage, when Pardo refused to open a joint account with Sylvia; he also expected his wife to take care of her own three children with her own finances.

In June 2008, divorce court had ordered Pardo to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support. During the divorce proceeding, Pardo had confided to a friend his wife was "taking him to the cleaners." In July, Pardo was fired for billing false hours and the court suspended the support payments due to job hardship.

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.

Depiction in media

Music

• Poly Styrene, the lead singer of X-Ray Spex, recorded a song in 2010 called "Black Christmas", which contains references to the massacre.

Film

• Silent Night was partially based on the massacre. In the film, a character tells the story of a man who donned a Santa suit, and used a homemade flamethrower to attack a Christmas party being attended by his ex-wife.

See also

In Spanish: Masacre de Covina para niños