Raney also said Pardo came to his former in-laws ' home with $ 17,000 strapped to his legs and inside a girdle , indicating he may have wanted quick access to his money as he fled the country . Watch police talk about what was found on the gunman 's body '' Police said that after leaving the home , Pardo changed out of the Santa suit and into regular clothes . Raney also spoke about a pipe bomb that exploded in Pardo 's rental car Thursday night . He said Pardo had rigged the rental car so that if someone tried to remove the Santa suit , the car would explode . The car was packed with ammunition and black powder , he said . Police said that inside Pardo 's home in Montrose , California , they also found five empty boxes for semiautomatic handguns , two high-powered shotguns and `` racing fuel , '' which they believe was used to help set fire to the home . Police also said they found Pardo 's resume , which said he had a bachelor 's and master 's degree in electrical engineering , but they could not verify if
LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The man who , dressed as Santa Claus , killed nine people at a Christmas Eve party planned to flee to Canada the next day , but California police believe he decided to kill himself instead because of severe burn injuries . Pardo rigged his rental car so that if someone tried to remove the Santa suit , the car would explode . During a news conference on Friday , Covina Police Chief Kim Raney said Bruce Jeffrey Pardo had purchased a ticket for an early Christmas Day flight from Los Angeles to Canada . Raney said that while police do not know why Pardo , 45 , decided against his plan to flee , they speculate it may have been due to the burn injuries Pardo received after setting fire to the home where the slayings occurred . Pardo 's body was covered in third-degree burns , Raney said , and part of the Santa suit the gunman wore to the massacre burned and melted into his legs . Police believe Pardo 's injuries came after he set fire to the home using a homemade device used to spread fuel .