Sixteen children were left orphaned in the Christmas Eve massacre carried out by a gunman dressed as Santa Claus who slaughtered his ex-wife and her family in Los Angeles, it was reported overnight.
Authorities have yet to formally identify the nine people killed by Bruce Pardo, 45, who opened fire at the home of his former in-laws before setting fire to the house and later taking his own life.
But the devastating impact upon the family of his ex-wife - identified in media reports as Sylvia Ortega - has slowly begun to emerge as grief-stricken friends and associates speak out in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Pardo's rampage is reported to have claimed the lives of his ex-wife, her parents, her two brothers and their partners, and another relative Alice Ortiz and her teenage son.
Sylvia Ortega's three children were at the party but survived, Scott Nord, the family's lawyer, told NBC4 television. "The entire family was wiped out," Nord said. "There's basically like 16 orphans."
Source.
Good old Yanks, celebrating Xmas in the only way they know...
