GRAPEVINE — We're learning more about the Christmas Day massacre in Grapevine that left seven people dead.
Police Monday revealed that the gunman was dressed in a Santa Claus outfit and waited until the presents were opened to kill the victims and then himself.
Neighbors confirmed to News 8 the identities of at least four of the victims in the tragedy.
Grapevine police say it was an apparent murder-suicide that took place right after a Christmas celebration, and say the shooter was wearing a Santa suit when he got out of his Toyota 4-Runner. A neighbor confirms the vehicle belongs to Aziz Yazdanpanah, the alleged shooter, who lived in nearby Colleyville.
"Just a really nice guy, and whenever I saw him with his kids he was all about his kids," said neighbor Terri Baum. "He was the perfect neighbor."
Neighbors said Yazdanpanah and his wife, Fatemeh Rahmadi, separated months ago when she moved into the Grapevine apartment where the shooting took place.
The couple's oldest daughter — 19-year-old Nona Yazdanpanah — was a Tarrant County College student who had just graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School along with her best friend, Allison Baum.
"It was just family issues, just typical family issues," Baum said. "The mom and dad didn't get along. The dad was never violent, never did anything to hurt them. He loved his kids and he was a good dad."
Dozens of friends posted messages of condolence on Nona's Facebook page.
"I've written on her Facebook wall as kind of a memorial thing, but my immediate reaction was to text her — even though I knew she wouldn't answer," Allison Baum said.
At Coldwater Creek Spa in Southlake, employees told News 8 Fatemeh Rahmadi had not shown up for work, causing alarm, because she had never once been late in the four years she worked there. They feared the worst.
Meanwhile, family friends say they will never understand what caused Yazdanpanah to kill his entire family.
"I don't honestly believe that the dad could have done this because he was a good person," Allison Baum said.
The Colleyville home where Aziz Yazdanpanah lived had been foreclosed on more than a year ago.
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