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Calif. student goes on shooting rampage after making ‘Day of Retribution’ video Calif. student goes on shooting rampage after making ‘Day of Retribution’ video
(36 minutes later)
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A 22-year-old college student taped a chilling video vowing a “day of retribution” against women who had sexually shunned him, then went on a shooting rampage Friday night in the seaside college community of Isla Vista, close to the University of California at Santa Barbara. SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A 22-year-old college student taped a chilling video vowing a “Day of Retribution” against women who had sexually shunned him, then went on a murderous rampage Friday night in the seaside college community of Isla Vista, close to the University of California at Santa Barbara.
The shooter, identified by police as Elliot Rodger, killed six people, authorities said. The gunman had a running shootout with sheriff’s deputies, then crashed his vehicle into a parked car. The shooter was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head and a semiautomatic handgun close at hand. Authorities did not immediately determine whether he committed suicide or was shot in the gun battle. The shooter, identified by authorities as Elliot Rodger, 22, killed six people, including three men who police discovered stabbed to death in Rodger’s Isla Vista apartment.
He targeted women, specifically sorority members. Six people injured in the mayhem were taken to hospitals for treatment. Investigators were studying 10 separate “very chaotic” crime scenes, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Saturday during an early-morning news conference. Rodger then shot three university students to death and injured 13 people, including four struck by his black BMW as he careened across town exchanging gunfire with sheriff’s deputies.
Three men were found stabbed to death at Rodger’s apartment, authorities said. He crashed his vehicle into a parked car, and when the deputies pulled him out and handcuffed him, they could clearly see he was dead from a gunshot wound to the head, likely self-inflicted, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Saturday night in a news conference.
“We have obtained and we are currently analyzing both written and videotaped evidence that suggests that this atrocity was a premeditated mass murder,” Brown said. The video, uploaded Friday to YouTube, and a separate, 141-page manifesto written by Rodger and detailing his plans suggest that “this atrocity was a premeditated mass murder,” Brown said.
The mass murder joins a long list of recent incidents — including in Newtown, Conn.; Aurora, Colo.; and the Mall in Columbia, Md. — in which a young man, mentally disturbed, has tried to shoot as many people as possible to avenge some perceived slight or societal injustice. The mass murder joins a long list of recent incidents — including in Newtown, Conn.,
Once again, there is the element of theatricality. In this case, it took the form of the self-pitying “selfie” video in which the suspected killer, sitting behind the wheel of his luxury car, discussed his plans as if he were a loquacious villain in a Hollywood movie. Aurora, Colo., and the mall in Columbia, Md. — in which a young man, mentally disturbed, has tried to shoot as many people as possible to avenge some perceived slight or societal injustice.
Once again, there is the element of theatricality. In this case it took the form of the self-pitying “selfie” video in which the Rodger, sitting behind the wheel of his luxury car, discussed his planned shooting spree as if he were a loquacious villain in a Hollywood movie.
“Hi. Elliot Rodger here,” the video began. “Well, this is my last video. It all has to come to this. Tomorrow is the day of retribution. The day in which I will have my revenge against humanity. Against all of you.”“Hi. Elliot Rodger here,” the video began. “Well, this is my last video. It all has to come to this. Tomorrow is the day of retribution. The day in which I will have my revenge against humanity. Against all of you.”
In the video, which quickly spread across the Internet on Saturday, Rodger vowed to enter the “hottest sorority” at the university and “slaughter every single spoiled stuck-up blond slut I see inside there.” He snickers as he ponders the crime and then says he will take to the streets of Isla Vista and “slay” every person he sees there. In the video, which quickly spread across the Internet on Saturday, Rodger vows to enter the “hottest sorority” at the university and “slaughter every single spoiled stuck-up blonde slut I see inside there.” He snickers as he ponders the crime and then says he will take to the streets of Isla Vista and “slay” every person he sees there.
CNN reported that one of its affiliates had received a 140-page manifesto written by Rodger that explains his “twisted” world view. The suspected gunman has a Hollywood connection: He is the son of Peter Rodger, an art photographer who served as the assistant director on the first “Hunger Games” installment. Peter Rodger, in turn, is the son of the late British photojournalist George Rodger, co-founder of Magnum Photos.
The suspected gunman has a Hollywood connection: He is the son of Peter Rodger, an art photographer who served as the assistant director on the first “Hunger Games” movie. Peter Rodger, in turn, is the son of the late British photojournalist George Rodger, co-founder of Magnum Photos.
Elliot Rodger’s Facebook page is striking for the number of images of Elliot himself — including many head shots, as if he were posing for publicity stills. One image shows him with his father at the premiere of one of the “Hunger Games” movies. There are images of landscapes and fancy cars, but few other people, or any sign of close friends.Elliot Rodger’s Facebook page is striking for the number of images of Elliot himself — including many head shots, as if he were posing for publicity stills. One image shows him with his father at the premiere of one of the “Hunger Games” movies. There are images of landscapes and fancy cars, but few other people, or any sign of close friends.
He uploaded numerous videos to YouTube showing him driving his car on California roads. In one posted Friday, Rodger winks at the camera while listening to Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know.”He uploaded numerous videos to YouTube showing him driving his car on California roads. In one posted Friday, Rodger winks at the camera while listening to Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know.”
“I consider myself a sophisticated, polite gentleman, unlike most boys my age. My father is of British descent, and my mother is of Asian descent, so that makes me a Eurasian. I enjoy hiking, exercising, watching sunsets, traveling, cars, fashion, going to nice restaurants, and going to parties,” he wrote in his Google+ profile.“I consider myself a sophisticated, polite gentleman, unlike most boys my age. My father is of British descent, and my mother is of Asian descent, so that makes me a Eurasian. I enjoy hiking, exercising, watching sunsets, traveling, cars, fashion, going to nice restaurants, and going to parties,” he wrote in his Google+ profile.
But in a post in April, he bemoaned his loneliness in Santa Barbara: “As I’ve said many times, a beautiful environment can be the darkest hell if you have to experience it all alone, especially while having to watch other men walking around with their girlfriends. I wish girls were attracted to me. I don’t know why they aren’t.”But in a post in April, he bemoaned his loneliness in Santa Barbara: “As I’ve said many times, a beautiful environment can be the darkest hell if you have to experience it all alone, especially while having to watch other men walking around with their girlfriends. I wish girls were attracted to me. I don’t know why they aren’t.”
The Associated Press reported that Alan Shifman, an attorney for Peter Rodger, issued a statement on behalf of the Rodger family identifying Elliot as the shooter and offering “their deepest condolences to all of the victims’ families involved.”The Associated Press reported that Alan Shifman, an attorney for Peter Rodger, issued a statement on behalf of the Rodger family identifying Elliot as the shooter and offering “their deepest condolences to all of the victims’ families involved.”
Shifman said the family had been concerned by the young man’s erratic behavior in recent weeks and that law enforcement officials had interviewed him and found him to be “polite and kind.”Shifman said the family had been concerned by the young man’s erratic behavior in recent weeks and that law enforcement officials had interviewed him and found him to be “polite and kind.”
Shifman said the younger Rodger was a student at Santa Barbara City College. He said Rodger had been seeing multiple therapists and that a social worker had contacted police recently about him. Shifman said the younger Rodger was a student at Santa Barbara City College. He said Rodger had been seeing multiple therapists, and that a social worker had contacted police recently about him.
Santa Barbara City College put out a statement Saturday: “Our hearts are aching as we learn about the tragedy that unfolded in Isla Vista last night. There are no words to express the sadness we have for the victims and their families and for all the residents of Isla Vista.” Brown, the county sheriff, said authorities had had three encounters with Rodger, including a domestic assault case last year and a strange incident earlier this year when Rodger made a citizen’s arrest of his roommate for stealing three candles valued at $22.
Police received the first report of gunfire at 9:27 p.m. in Isla Vista, a village surrounded by the university, and about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Sheriff’s deputies on duty in Isla Vista heard the gunshots. After Rodger’s family requested that officials check on his welfare, deputies visited the young man, who, though complaining about his social life, seemed sufficiently pleasant that the deputies felt no need to make a report, Brown said.
One witness said the gunman fired from his car as he drove through the community. Rodger owned three handguns, all legally purchased in his own name, and he had enough ammunition for a massacre — 41 magazines with 10 rounds each, Brown said.
“He slowed down and drove by the store and shot into the store and drove away,” said Michael Hassan, 33, owner of I.V. Deli Mart. He said six or seven shots came through the deli’s glass windows. “A customer is dead. . . . You never hear of drive-by shootings in Santa Barbara.” Police received the first report of gunfire at 9:27 p.m. Friday in Isla Vista, a village surrounded by the university, and about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
As Brown related the sequence of events:
Rodger first killed the three men at his apartment. Next, he stopped at the Alpha Phi sorority. He pounded on the door violently for two minutes, but no one answered. He eventually retreated across the street.
Moments later, he shot three female students who had been walking down the sidewalk. Two died, and a third survived with multiple gunshot wounds.
The gunman then began driving wildly around town, firing into businesses and at people on the sidewalk. He killed a UCSB student who was a customer at a deli.
“He slowed down and drove by the store and shot into the store and drove away,” said Michael Hassan, 33, owner of I.V. Deli Mart. He said six or seven shots came through the deli’s glass windows. “A customer is dead....You never hear of drive-by shootings in Santa Barbara.”
Cayla Bergman, 19, a sophomore who was working at a pizza restaurant, said it had been a typical Friday night until she heard “booms.”Cayla Bergman, 19, a sophomore who was working at a pizza restaurant, said it had been a typical Friday night until she heard “booms.”
“I hear a lot of fireworks go off, so I didn’t process it at the time, until everyone ran into the store and said, ‘Someone got shot! Someone got shot!’ It was really scary,” she said.“I hear a lot of fireworks go off, so I didn’t process it at the time, until everyone ran into the store and said, ‘Someone got shot! Someone got shot!’ It was really scary,” she said.
Six minutes after the first report of gunfire, deputies and the suspect exchanged gunfire. Brown said of his deputies, “There’s no question in my mind at this point that their resolute actions and valor in doing so very well may have prevented further loss of life and injury.” Rodger exchanged gunfire with sheriff’s deputies and continued to shoot at pedestrians as he drove through the community. He was hit by a bullet in the hip before crashing his car and apparently committing suicide.
At a news conference in Isla Vista that was carried on CNN, a man named Richard Martinez said his son, Christopher Ross Martinez, 20, was among those slain Friday. When investigators went to his apartment afterward they found the three men stabbed to death.
“It was a pretty horrific crime scene,” Brown said.
Christopher Ross Martinez, a 20-year-old university student, died after being shot in the deli. His father, Richard Martinez, held a brief, emotional press conference late Saturday.
“Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don’t think it’ll happen to your child until it does,” the grieving father said. “His death has left our family lost and broken. Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live? When will this insanity stop?”“Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don’t think it’ll happen to your child until it does,” the grieving father said. “His death has left our family lost and broken. Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live? When will this insanity stop?”
This is not the first mass killing in Isla Vista. In 2001, David Attias, the son of a film director, ran over five people in a car, killing four of them. He was convicted of second-degree murder, then ruled insane and sentenced to a mental hospital. This is not the first mass killing in Isla Vista: In 2001, David Attias, the son of a film director, ran over five people in a car, killing four of them. He was convicted of second-degree murder, then ruled insane and sentenced to a mental hospital.
The university community gathered Saturday night on campus for a prayer vigil.The university community gathered Saturday night on campus for a prayer vigil.