Eight dead as gun-toting Santa opens fire, kills self

---

LOS ANGELES, Dec 26 (AFP): At least eight people were killed after a man dressed as Santa Claus burst into a Christmas Eve party and opened fire before later killing himself, according to officials.
The body of Bruce Pardo, 45, was found with self-inflicted gunshot wounds early Thursday, hours after he had launched an assault on a party hosted by the parents of his ex-wife in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina, police said.
Pardo had knocked on the door of the home in a quiet residential neighbourhood in Covina, 23 miles (37 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, just before midnight on Christmas Eve, police lieutenant Pat Buchanan said.
An eight-year-old girl who answered the door was shot in the face before Pardo stormed into the home and began spraying revelers with bullets with a semi-automatic handgun.
After partygoers fled the scene, Pardo torched the house with a bizarre home-made incendiary device before making his getaway.
The gunman was found dead from a single shot to the head at his brother's home in Sylmar, approximately 25 miles away, a few hours later, police said. Earlier reports said Pardo killed himself at his own home.
Later Thursday a rented car parked outside the property was discovered to be loaded with 300 rounds of ammunition and a pipe bomb. The car burst into flames as bomb disposal experts moved in, reports said.
Police had received a series of emergency calls alerting them to the initial incident, and when they arrived, the house was engulfed in flames and guests were running out, Buchanan said.
Two girls, including the eight-year-old who answered the door, were hospitalized with gunshot wounds and a 13-year-old girl was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Around 80 firefighters were deployed to tackle the fire that destroyed the house. Three bodies were found in a basement, Buchanan said, with the death toll rising to eight as investigators from Los Angeles County Coroner's Office picked through the crime scene during the day.