8 dead as gun-toting Santa opens fire, kills self in US

A man dressed in a Santa Claus costume burst into a Christmas Eve party at his former in-laws' house and opened fire, killing at least eight people before taking his own life, US officials said yesterday.
Bruce Pardo, 45, who reportedly had been embroiled in a bitter divorce with his ex-wife, knocked on the door of her parents' home in the quiet Los Angeles suburb of Covina and launched the assault just before midnight, police lieutenant Pat Buchanan said.An eight-year-old girl who answered the door was shot in the face before Pardo stormed the home in Covina, 37km east of Los Angeles, and began spraying revellers with bullets fired from a semi-automatic handgun.