Ten dead in U.S. Santa rampage

By Gina Keating and Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man who dressed as Santa Claus to kill nine Christmas Eve party guests before taking his own life had been divorced just a week when he unleashed a hail of gunfire and flames that seemed intended for his former wife and in-laws, officials said on Friday.

Authorities in the suburban town of Covina, 23 miles (37 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, still were trying to comprehend what drove Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, a jobless engineer and long-time church usher, to carry out his fiery rampage.

But survivors told police Pardo seemed to zero in on his ex-spouse and her relatives after he burst into her parents' home at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, opening fire with four handguns on about 25 party guests there.

"It appears he did have some intended targets, those being family members in the immediate family of his ex-wife," Covina Police Chief Kim Raney told reporters at a news conference.

After running out of bullets, Pardo used a makeshift gas dispenser to spray the inside of the home with a combustible vapour consisting partly of auto-racing fuel, which quickly ignited in an explosion, gutting the dwelling, police said.

The bodies of nine victims, charred beyond recognition, were recovered from the house. Pardo's ex-wife, Sylvia Ortega, 43, and her parents were believed to be among the dead.

Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, said medical and dental records would be needed to identify the bodies, and autopsies to determine whether victims died in the gunfire or the explosion and fire that followed.

Pardo himself suffered third-degree burns in the blast, which melted the Santa suit onto his body. He then fled to his brother's house about 40 miles (65 km) away, where authorities later found him dead from a gunshot wound to the head.