On Christmas morning 2011, the small town of Grapevine, Texas, was shaken by a horrific tragedy when a father, dressed in a Santa Claus suit, opened fire on his own family in a brutal murder-suicide. Aziz Yazdanpanah, 56, an Iranian-born father of two, killed six members of his family after they had just finished opening presents in the living room. Police arrived at the Lincoln-Vineyards Apartments to find the bodies of seven people scattered among the remains of wrapping paper and gifts.
Yazdanpanah murdered his estranged wife, Fatemeh Rahmati, 55, their two teenage children, Ali, 14, and Nona, 19, as well as his wife’s sister, Zohreh Rahmaty, 58, her husband, Mohamad Hossein Zarei, 59, and their daughter, Sahra, 22. Just minutes before the massacre, Sahra had texted her boyfriend, saying, “Soo we’re here. We just got here and my uncle is here too. Dressed as Santa. Awesome.” In a later text, she mentioned, “Now he wants to be all fatherly and win father of the year,” unaware that her family would soon be slaughtered, told The Independent.
Within 20 minutes of her second message, six family members had been fatally shot. Yazdanpanah then called 911 to report the murders, calmly stating, “I am shooting people,” before ending the call and turning the gun on himself. The police arrived just minutes later to find the shocking scene. “This is probably one of the most tragic things that I’ve certainly been involved with,” said Grapevine Police Sgt. Robert Eberling, as he described the devastation.
Investigators believe Yazdanpanah was driven by a combination of marital problems, financial issues, and personal pride. He had been unemployed and financially struggling, even facing bankruptcy with his wife months before the attack. According to family friend Marc Beglari, Yazdanpanah had expressed bitterness towards his estranged wife’s sister, who he felt had control over the family. “They denied him his pride,” Beglari said. “They took his family away.”
The massacre remains the deadliest crime in Grapevine’s history, with police stating, “We never really have encountered a situation with this many victims that were shot and killed.” This tragedy, which shattered a holiday gathering, continues to haunt the community and serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the potential dangers that can lie beneath the surface of domestic strife.