LOS ANGELES, California (CNN)  -- 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.



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 it was accurate. The resume also indicated Pardo had worked in the aerospace field.



The news conference Friday came after officials said a ninth body was found in the rubble at the home.  Watch investigators at the burned-out home »



Police said about 25 people attended the holiday party where Pardo, dressed in a full Santa Claus outfit, came in the front door and then moved through the house, firing two semiautomatic handguns.



Covina police Friday released a recording of a chaotic 911 call.



Voices are heard on the recording yelling, "Stay away from the window!" and pleading, "Please come immediately ... he's shooting! He's shooting!"



Later a voice gasps, "He's left the house -- my mom's house is on fire!"



A distraught woman cries, "My daughter's been shot! She was shot in the face on the side, and she's bleeding!"



Police said Pardo brought four handguns to the home.



The first victim was an 8-year-old girl who ran to the door after hearing a knock, police said. She was shot in the face but survived.



"She has a very, very severe injury to her face. It's not life-threatening, but she's got a very tough road ahead of her," Lt. Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department said at a news conference Thursday.  Watch police describe girl's injuries »



Raney said Friday that witnesses, who may have caught only glimpses of what was happening because of the chaos, thought Pardo may have targeted some victims. He said witnesses at the party said Pardo may have stood over some of the victims and executed them.



Raney said people at the party were jumping out of windows on both floors of the house trying to escape the gunfire and flames.



"The information we have so far is that Mr. Pardo was married to the daughter of the resident of the
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