DALLAS -- One of the victims of a Christmas Day shooting in Texas that left seven dead sent text messages before her uncle opened fire on the gathering saying he was there dressed as Santa Claus and wanting to be "all fatherly," police said Wednesday.
Authorities say 56-year-old Aziz Yazdanpanah, who had marital and financial problems, killed his estranged wife, their two teenage children, his wife's sister, his brother-in-law and his niece before turning the gun on himself at the apartment in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine.
Yazdanpanah's niece, 22-year-old Sara Fatemeh Zarei, sent a text to a friend just before 11 a.m. saying they had arrived at the apartment and that Yazdanpanah was there. "Soo we're here. We just got here and my uncle is here too. Dressed as Santa. Awesome," she said in one text.
At 11:15 a.m. she texted, "Now he wants to be all fatherly and win father of the year."
Grapevine police Sgt. Robert Eberling said that police believe Yazdanpanah shot his six family members inside the apartment near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport where his wife and children had been staying. Police believe Yazanpanah then called 911 at 11:34 a.m. — a muffled voice heard saying "help" twice was followed by heavy breathing before the line went dead — and then shot himself.
Police arrived about three minutes later and found everyone dead. It appeared they had been opening presents around their Christmas tree just before the attack.
Police say that in addition to killing his wife of 24 years, 55-year-old Fatemah Rahmati, their 19-year-old daughter Nona and 14-year-old son Ali, Yazdanpanah also killed his wife's sister, 58-year-old Zohreh Rahmaty, her husband, 59-year-old Mohamad Hossein Zarei, and their daughter, Sara.
Eberling said one of the two weapons, a 9 mm, was purchased in 1996 and registered to Yazdanpanah. The other weapon was a .40 caliber.
The medical examiner's office said Yazdanpanah's son, daughter, niece and sister-in-law were shot multiple times in the head. His wife was shot once in the head and his brother-in-law was shot multiple times in the head, chest and stomach.
"The Persian community is devastated," said Mashy Modjdehi, a friend of Yazdanpanah's wife and sister. Modjdehi called the two women "the nicest people in the world — angels."
Eberling has said that detectives believe Yazdanpanah's marital and financial troubles led him to kill his family, but added Wednesday that Yazdanpanah's exact thought process that morning may never be known.
"We really don't have a clear idea of why he did this," Eberling said. "Sometimes there's not a really good explanation for irrational behavior."
Modjdehi said Yazdanpanah's wife moved out of the couple's 3,010-square-foot home in the neighboring suburb of Colleyville in April and into the apartment complex two miles away. The two children moved with her.
Rahmati, known to family and friends as Nasrin, filed for bankruptcy in August 2010, and she told her attorney she hoped the proceedings would stave off foreclosure of the home where the family had lived for more than a decade.
She separated from Yazdanpanah in the midst of the bankruptcy and the proceedings were later dismissed because she failed to make the plan payments, said the attorney, George Barnes. He said his notes show that Rahmati told him, "Please don't talk to the husband at all."
Barnes said Yazdanpanah initially accompanied his wife to meetings related to the bankruptcy and listed his occupation as "self-employed."
According to federal court records, Yazdanpanah was placed on three years' probation in 1996 after pleading guilty to one count of subscribing to a false income tax return. He also was fined $1,000 and required to pay $30,119 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Three years later, Yazdanpanah and his wife filed jointly for bankruptcy. That case was discharged in a matter of months.
Modjdehi, who owns a beauty salon in nearby Plano, said the family's financial troubles intensified about four years ago when Yazdanpanah stopped working in the mortgage business.
Modjdehi said Yazdanpanah had long forbidden Rahmati, who holds a state cosmetology license, to work. But once he became unemployed, his wife held down jobs at two spas, the friend said.
"She worked hard to keep the family together, but he wasn't willing to do anything," Modjdehi said.
After the 2010 bankruptcy was dismissed, Yazdanpanah, often referred to as "Bob," remained in the Colleyville home, currently valued on the tax rolls at $336,200, and was often seen working in his yard.
Neighbors said there were few signs of discord. Fred Ditmars, who lives across the street, said he was unaware that Yazdanpanah's wife and children had moved out. Ditmars said the entire family was around last summer for a couple of garage sales, and Yazdanpanah volunteered at a high school debate tournament where his daughter was a participant.
"He was, from everything that we saw, actively engaged with his children," Ditmars said.
Yazdanpanah's daughter graduated from nearby Colleyville Heritage High School this year. She was attending a local community college, but eventually hoped to go to school in California and become a lawyer, said a friend and high school classmate.
The friend, Yiselle Alvarenga, said Nona had hinted in August that things were becoming increasingly difficult in her life but didn't go into details. Alvarenga said she knew that Nona's father was "really strict" and did not want her to have a boyfriend, although she defied his rule and had a relationship with a student at another high school.
"Her mom was more understanding," Alvarenga said. "Her dad would take away her phone and not give it back to her."
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Associated Press writer Danny Robbins contributed to this report.
