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 c. 11:30 p.m. (UTC-8) |
| Target | Ex-wife and her family |
|
Attack type
|
Mass murder, torching |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 10 (including the perpetrator) |
|
Non-fatal injuries
|
3 (2 from gunfire) |
| Perpetrator | Bruce Jeffrey Pardo |
The Covina massacre was a terrible event that happened on December 24, 2008, in Covina. This city is a suburb of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Nine people lost their lives. They died either from gunshot wounds or in a fire that was set on purpose inside a house. A Christmas Eve party was taking place there.
The person responsible was 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo. He came to the house wearing a Santa suit. Pardo died at his brother's home early the next morning. Police believe that problems in Pardo's marriage led to the violence. His divorce had just become final on December 18, only one week before the attack. Three people, including Pardo's ex-wife, were first reported missing until their bodies could be identified.
Contents
The Attack on Christmas Eve
At about 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo arrived at his former in-laws' house. About 25 people were inside enjoying a party. Pardo was dressed in a Santa Claus suit. He carried a gift-wrapped package. This package held a special air compressor that could spray gasoline, along with at least four 9mm semi-automatic handguns.
Moments after the door opened, Pardo pulled out the handguns. He immediately shot his 8-year-old niece, Katrina Yuzefpolsky, who ran to greet him. Then, he fired his guns at other party-goers who were trying to run away. Police think Pardo might have shot some victims very closely.
The Fire and Its Aftermath
After the shootings, Pardo opened his package. He used the compressor to spray gasoline around the house. Then, he set the home on fire. Nine people died from either gunshots or the flames. Three others were hurt. Katrina Yuzefpolsky was shot and had serious but not life-threatening injuries. A 16-year-old girl was also shot and wounded. A 20-year-old woman broke her ankle when she jumped from a second-floor window to escape.
One person managed to escape during the attack. They ran to a neighbor's house and called the police. The fire grew very large, reaching about 40 to 50 feet high. It took 80 firefighters an hour and a half to put out the blaze. Because the fire was so intense, the victims had to be identified using their dental and medical records.
Pardo's Escape and Discovery
After setting the house on fire, Pardo changed into his regular clothes. He drove his rental car, a Dodge Caliber, to his brother's house in Sylmar. This was about 30 miles from the crime scene. He was later found dead there. His brother was not home at the time.
At first, police thought Pardo planned to fly to Canada. He had bought an airline ticket for a flight on Air Canada. However, it was later found that his flight was actually on Northwest Airlines from Los Angeles to Moline, Illinois, with a stop in Minnesota. Pardo had called a high school friend days before, saying he planned to visit. Investigators were not sure if he really meant to visit or if the flight was just to trick them. He had visited this friend in October 2008. Other reports said that parts of his Santa suit had melted during the fire and stuck to his skin.
Pardo suffered severe third-degree burns on his arms from the fire. Because of his injuries, he changed his original plan. Police found $17,000 in cash wrapped in cling wrap on his legs, hidden inside a girdle. His rental car was parked a block from his brother's house. It still had pieces of his Santa suit inside. Police also found four empty 13-round capacity handguns and at least 200 rounds of ammunition.
Police treated the car as a possible threat. A bomb squad tried to remove a part of the Santa suit using a robot. But they accidentally started a fire in the car, which burned and destroyed it. At Pardo's own house in Montrose, police found five empty boxes for semiautomatic handguns. They also found a Benelli M2 Tactical shotgun and a container for high-octane fuel. They also discovered what was described as a "virtual bomb factory" in his home, meaning he had many materials for making explosives.
About Bruce Jeffrey Pardo
Bruce Jeffrey Pardo lived in the San Fernando Valley. He graduated from 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, whose maiden name was Sylvia Ortega, in 2004.
Reasons for the Attack
Police believe the main reason for the attack was problems in Pardo's marriage. His divorce from his wife of one year had just been finalized the week before the attack. However, Pardo had no criminal record and no history of violence before this event. He had been fired from his job as an electrical engineer at ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems in July.
The couple got married in January 2006. But they soon started having problems. Pardo did not want to open a joint bank account with Sylvia. He also expected his wife to pay for her own three children's expenses with her own money.
In June 2008, a divorce court ordered Pardo to pay $1,785 a month to support his wife. During the divorce process, Pardo told a friend that his wife was "taking him to the cleaners." In July, Pardo lost his job for billing false hours. The court then stopped the support payments because he was having job problems.
Court papers showed that Pardo was required to pay Sylvia $10,000 as part of the divorce agreement. Sylvia kept her wedding ring and the family dog. In a court statement, Pardo complained that Sylvia was living with her parents without paying rent. He also said she spent a lot of money on a fancy car, gambling trips to Las Vegas, meals at nice restaurants, massages, and golf lessons.
The Covina Massacre in Media
Music
- Poly Styrene, the lead singer of X-Ray Spex, released a song in 2010 called "Black Christmas." This song includes parts that refer to the Covina massacre.
Film
- The movie Silent Night was partly based on this event. In the film, a character tells a story about a man who dressed as Santa. He used a homemade flamethrower to attack a Christmas party where his ex-wife was present.
See also
In Spanish: Masacre de Covina para niños
