A Christmas party ended in tragedy as a killer dressed in Santa Claus gunned down nine party guests, blew up the building and then pointed the gun to him. The incident caused by a man who had divorced just a week before Christmas happened in the suburban town of Covina, 23 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Police investigators are still trying to determine what drove the killer – 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo – to commit such a horrible crime. The poor state of mind in which he was – a divorced, jobless engineer and long-time church usher – may have been very important.

Witnesses who survived the fiery rampage said Pardo seemed to aim for his ex-wife and her close relatives who were attending the Christmas party. The killer had four handguns. He entered the home of his ex-wife’s parents at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday night and opened fire. The first victim was an 8-year-old who greeted what she thought was Santa. The girl was shot in the face as she ran towards Pardo.

Pardo fired all the bullets in his guns, but did not stop there. He used a makeshift gas dispenser, sprayed a combustible vapour inside the room which ignited in an explosion. Nine people were charred beyond recognition. The killer’s ex-wife and her parents are believed to be among the victims.

The bodies will be identified after police receive the medical and dental records.

The killer, who suffered third-degree burns, fled the scene and went to his brother’s house where he shot himself in the head. Police investigators said Pardo had initially planed to flee the country to Canada, but he decided to kill himself because the burns suffered in the blast.