Covina massacre
| Covina massacre | |
|---|---|
Bruce Jeffrey Pardo
|
|
| Location | Covina, Los Angeles County, California, United States |
| Date | December 24, 2008 c. 11:30 p.m. (UTC-8) |
| Target | Ex-wife and her family |
|
Attack type
|
Mass murder, murder-suicide, torching |
| Weapons |
|
| 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 on 1129 East Knollcrest Drive, where a Christmas Eve party was being held. The perpetrator, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who entered the house wearing a Santa suit, committed suicide, dying from a gunshot wound to the head at his brother's residence in the early morning hours 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.
Pardo originated from the San Fernando Valley and was a graduate of John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, Los Angeles and California State University. He worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. He met Sylvia Pardo, previously Sylvia Orza, in 2004.
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 homemade flamethrower in one hand and a 9mm semi-automatic handgun in the other hand; he also had three additional 9mm semi-automatic handguns in his possession. When the door opened, Pardo fired the handgun at the eight-year-old daughter of Leticia Yuzefpolsky, a sister of Sylvia Pardo, as she ran to greet him, injuring her in the face. 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.
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