Muslim ‘Honor Killing’ >>> First pictures of tragic family shot dead on Christmas Day by their father dressed in a Santa suit

The first pictures emerged today of seven people gunned down as they opened their presents on Christmas morning by an estranged husband and father wearing a Santa suit.

Aziz Yazdanpanah, who had separated from his wife in March, is believed to have opened fire at an apartment in Grapevine, Dallas - just after the family opened their gifts - killing seven people including his children and wife before turning the gun on himself.

Just hours before the families were killed, the Yazdanpanah and Zarei families had thrown a large Christmas Eve party at their ranch. Dozens of friends and relatives celebrated late into the night, according to WFAA8.com.

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Family: Daughter Nona Yazdanpanah and her cousin Sahra Zarei were both gunned down on Christmas day

Gunman: Aziz Yazdanpanah murdered his family and himself on Christmas morning while dressed as Santa

Son: Ali Yazdanpanah, 15, pictured here with his family, was also shot by his dad

Friends say Aziz Yazdanpanah, 56, likely showed up unexpectedly the next morning as he had not been invited to the party as he had separated from his wife in March.

The victims have been identified as his wife Nasrin Rahmaty, 55, the couple's two children Nona Yazdanpanah, 19, and her brother, Ali, 15.

Yazdanpanah also killed his sister-in-law's family. Zohreh Rahmaty, 58, and her husband, Hossein Zarei, 59. Their daughter Sahra Zarei, 22, was also shot.

Mona Hosseiny, 27, who grew up with the children, told WFAA8: 'They were as close as siblings. They basically called each other sister, brother. They were everybody's best friend and everybody loved them so much.'

Wife: Nasrin Rahmaty, centre, was also murdered by her estranged husband on Christmas day

Gunned down: The Zarei family - Hossein Zarei, Zohreh Rahmaty and Sahra Zarei were also shot by Aziz on Christmas morning

After the Yazdanpanahs separated, Ms Rahmaty moved with her children to the Grapevine apartment. They were having financial troubles and recently declared bankruptcy.

Despite their problems, family friends say they never expected anything like this: 'During the years, we sensed things, but not to the point he would take his own children's lives.'

Two pistols were recovered from the home, said Sergeant Robert Eberling of the Grapevine police department, who called it a 'gruesome crime scene' and the worst outburst of gun violence in the town's history.

Crime scene: Police officers stand outside an apartment where seven people were shot and killed on Christmas day in Grapvine, Texas

Comfort: The close friends and family of the Yazdanpanahs and Zahreihs mourned their passing yesterday as the shock news of their murder reached them

A community of about 46,000 people some 20 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, Grapevine is known for its wine-tasting salons and was recently proclaimed by the state Senate as the 'Christmas Capital of Texas' for its abundance of annual holiday-season events.

'This is obviously a terrible tragedy,' Mayor William Tate said on Sunday night in a statement given to Reuters. 'The fact that it happened on Christmas makes it even more tragic. This appears to be a family situation and anyone who has a family will be incredibly saddened by that happened.'

Police dispatched at about 11:30am local time on Sunday, found the bodies in the first-floor living room of a two-story unit in the Lincoln Vineyards apartments, police said.

The 911 caller never spoke to police, and officers did not see the telephone when they arrived, officials said. 

Eberling said he believed police had to kick in the door to enter. No neighbors reported hearing gunshots, he said.

Crime scene: Two handguns were found near the bodies in the apartment that was decorated for Christmas with a tree, police said

Investigate: Police officers investigate a Toyota 4Runner vehicle parked outside an apartment where seven people were shot and killed

Inside: A crime scene photographer is silhouetted against blood splattered window blinds in the apartment

Police and firefighters first rushed to the Lincoln Vineyards complex after receiving an open-ended 911 call at about 11:30am, Eberling said.

'There was an open line. No one was saying anything,' he explained.

So police went into the apartment, located in a middle-class, suburban neighborhood of Grapevine, not far from the upscale Fort Worth neighborhood of Colleyville. The apartment is at the back of the complex, overlooking the athletic fields of Colleyville Heritage High School.

But many of the nearby apartments are vacant, and police said no neighbours reported hearing anything on a quiet Christmas morning when many people were not around.

Jose Fernandez, a 35-year-old heavy equipment mechanic who moved to the complex with his family about six months ago, said he always felt safe in the area, but is now afraid to let his ten-year-old son play freely outside.

'This is really outrageous especially on Christmas,' said Mr Fernandez, who was visiting family for the holiday and returned to find several police cars parked outside his home.

Area: The middle-class, suburban neighbourhood of Grapevine, Texas is about 20 miles northwest of Dallas

'This has shocked everybody. It has scared everybody. I guess something like this can happen anywhere, but seven people dead. It's just very scary,' he added.

Eberling agreed the area is fairly quiet, noting this would be the first homicide in Grapevine since 2010.

Mon Dec 26 15:11:51 PST 2011

Grapevine massacre victim sought divorce from gunman

Police revealed Monday that the gunman was dressed in a Santa Claus outfit and waited until the presents were opened on Christmas Day to kill the victims and then himself. Sources identified the shooter as Aziz Yazdanpanah. view full article

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2079034/Christmas-Day-shootings-First-pictures-Texas-family-gunned-Aziz-Yazdanpanah-Santa-suit.html#ixzz1hly9vlwt

Islamic honor killing in Texas: "Santa" who murdered family on Christmas morning was Muslim who didn't like his daughter dating a non-Muslim

Aziz Yazdanpanah, a Muslim, didn't like his daughter's non-Muslim boyfriend and was exhibiting stalker behavior. “She couldn’t date at all until she was a certain age, but when he was going to let her date she couldn’t date anyone outside of their race or religion.”

Again and again we have seen honor killings in which fathers kill daughters who are dating non-Muslims or have supposedly besmirched the family honor by some sexual indiscretion. Lt. Todd Dearing says that motive isn't important -- which is generally only the case when Islam is involved.

"Neighbors horrified at news of family’s slayings in Grapevine," by Gloria Salinas and Scott Goldstein for the Dallas Morning News, December 26 (thanks to Steve):

GRAPEVINE — Aziz Yazdanpanah seemed to be losing control of his life in recent months — his wife left him, his house was in foreclosure, and his 19-year-old daughter was dating a young man he didn’t like.

Even so, the 58-year-old former real estate agent from Colleyville seemed to be holding it together. Neighbors say he would smile and wave as he drove through his middle-class neighborhood. Recently, he was seen raking leaves in his yard.

“He was very friendly, a very good neighbor,” said Carrie Stewart, who lives across the street. “He was out here often doing yard work and he even watched our house for us when we went to Colorado.”

A decent fellow indeed.

Yazdanpanah, a volunteer high school debate coach described as a doting father, is the focus of suspicion a day after a Christmas morning massacre in which a man dressed as Santa Claus killed six relatives and then committed suicide.

Grapevine police arrived at the Lincoln Vineyard Apartment Homes a few minutes before noon and discovered bodies sprawled among opened presents and wrapping paper. The victims were ages 15 to 58....

Citing public records and interviews with friends and neighbors, media reports Monday identified Yazdanpanah and others who had died: his estranged 55-year-old wife, Fatemeh Rahmati, their 19-year-old daughter, Nona Narges Yazdanpanah, and 15-year-old son, Ali Yazdanpanah.

Friends of the family said Fatemeh Rahmati’s 58-year-old sister, Zohreh Rahmaty, and her husband, Hossein Zarei, 59, and daughter Sahra Zarei, a 22-year-old pre-med student at the University of Texas at Arlington, also were killed.

Grapevine police Lt. Todd Dearing said investigators were working to piece together a timeline of the murders, but they may never know exactly what set off the gunman.

“Motive is not really the primary point right now,” Dearing said. “It’s more along the lines of what happened, how it transpired and making sure that who we believe to be the shooter is the shooter. Motive is what comes afterward for us if we can get it.”

He said a neighbor at the apartment complex saw the suspected shooter get out of his white sport utility vehicle dressed in a Santa outfit, including a full coat, pants, boots and belt. Based in part on that witness account, police believe the shootings occurred about the time a 911 call rang into the station at 11:34 a.m. Sunday.

The line was silent.... Grapevine police also searched the Colleyville home where Aziz Yazdanpanah had been living since he separated from his wife last spring. Public records show that the couple had filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and that the property was in foreclosure....

Yazdanpanah said he bought a gun after expressing concern that his daughter’s boyfriend was stalking him. He also insisted on picking up his daughter from her job at a phone kiosk inside Sam’s Club in Grapevine because of concerns about the alleged stalker.

The boyfriend has not been publicly identified.

Neighbors said the family was Muslim but had always hung Christmas lights on their home — except this year.

Terri Baum, who lives three homes down from Yazdanpanah, said she had seen him around the neighborhood in the last couple of weeks.

“They were pretty quiet, but kind, very kind,” Baum said. “They were sweet, good parents, and they loved their kids very much.”

Baum’s daughter, Allison, attended Colleyville Heritage High School with Nona, where the girls were part of an academic team focused on developing business leaders. They graduated together in May.

“Allison would take her to school from here, and then when they moved out she would pick her up from the apartments,” Baum said. “It’s unbelievable because of the people we knew them to be, and their children were good kids, very focused.”

Baum said she was horrified at the possibility the killings had been a murder-suicide.

“All I want to say is, it is so unbelievably shocking because they loved their kids,” Baum said. Yes, loved them to death. More