This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7799809.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 3 | Version 4 |
---|---|
'Santa' gunman in fatal LA attack | 'Santa' gunman in fatal LA attack |
(about 5 hours later) | |
At least six people have died after a man dressed as Santa Claus opened fire at a Christmas party near Los Angeles and set the house alight, police say. | |
Three other people are still missing in the suburb of Covina, in California. | |
Police named Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, as a suspect and later said his body had been identified at his brother's house, some 25 miles (40km) away. | |
He died from a single gunshot wound to the head, local police officer Martin Guerrero told the AP news agency. | |
Pat Buchanan, another city policeman, said: "He was going through some type of marital problems, and we believe that this residence [in Covina] is a relative's residence." | |
Police said Mr Pardo was the estranged husband of a woman who may have been at the party. | |
Burnt out | Burnt out |
The gunman opened fire with a hand gun on some 25 guests after arriving on Wednesday night, police said. | |
The body of suspect Bruce Jeffrey Pardo has been found | The body of suspect Bruce Jeffrey Pardo has been found |
They said he then used a homemade incendiary device to set the house on fire. | |
Eyewitnesses said he removed the Santa suit and left in casual clothing. | |
One neighbour, Jan Gregory, told AP she saw a teenage boy running from the house screaming: "They shot my family." | |
The subsequent fire gutted the two-storey home. | The subsequent fire gutted the two-storey home. |
Among those injured was an eight-year-old girl. | |
LA County coroner's official Ed Winter said the bodies found in the ashes were "extremely charred and burned". | |
Covina is about 25 miles (40km) east of Los Angeles. |