A man dressed as Father Christmas opened fire at a Christmas Eve party in a suburban Los Angeles home that subsequently caught fire, leaving three people dead, police said today.
Police said they were seeking a person of interest, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo. Mr Pardo, described by police as armed and dangerous, is the estranged husband of a person who may have been at the party.
"He was going through some type of marital problems, and we believe that this residence is a relative's residence," Lt. Pat Buchanan said.
The gunman arrived at the party in Covina late yesterday and immediately opened fire with a handgun, Buchanan said. Witnesses told police that the man took off the Santa suit and left the scene in street clothes.
Mr Buchanan says three bodies were found after the fire was put out. He could not say how the fire started or how the three people died.
Mr Buchanan also said police expected to name Pardo as a suspect later today.
Mr Buchanan said three other people were injured. A woman in her 20s and an 8-year-old girl had gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, and a third person had a broken ankle.
Police received several calls with reports of shots fired at 11:30 p.m. local time last night, and were still hearing gunshots after they arrived and found the house in flames, Mr Buchanan said.
At first, firefighters were held back by police because shots were still being fired, though it may have been ammunition burning in the blaze, fire captain Mike Brown said.
Firefighters had extinguished the blaze by about 1:30 a.m. this morning, Mr Brown said.
The home on a cul-de-sac was destroyed in Covina, a quiet suburb 25 miles east of Los Angeles.
AP